Jaune Arc-Class: Wraith
by Outliner
Summary: A huntsman- Thats all Jaune ever wanted to be. A hero like his ancestors. It didn’t really matter that he didn’t have any strength, smarts or skills to speak of, right? Not really no, he could change all that with the tap of a button and a little hard work. And once he was strong enough, he’d show his enemies that there’s a reason why you should fear the spirit of vengeance.
1. Ok, what the actual fuck?

**So this is my first attempt at a story, I'm not even sure I'm going to post it, but I've had this idea bouncing around my head for a while now. Yes, the 'gamer' fics have been done to hell and back, especially for RWBY, but they are by far my favorite type of story on this site... the good ones anyway. So many of the stories I see either make the character way to OP way to quickly or they have terrible grammar and/or plot developments. If I do post this, it won't be anything like that. I hope so anyway. Well, let's get on with it. **

Ok, what the actual fuck?

The continent of Sanus was the biggest known land mass on Remnant, housing the two kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo, with a multitude of small towns and villages in between. In one town in particular, some few hundred kilometers outside of the city of Vale, stood a large house, a small compound in actuality. It sat at the edge of the town of Nordain, with a wall surrounding it, keeping it seperate from its open neighbors, marking it as different. It was by far the grandest building in the village, as well as one of the biggest; all the other houses and shops were far more humble and, at most, were two stories tall, whereas the compound was a gigantic, three story architectural master piece. The shingled roof was made of black tiles and dotted with a few windows that belonged to various guest rooms and bathrooms. The walls were made of finely-cut stone bricks bigger than a grown mans torso and colored a muted brown.

A large slab of cedar wood served as a door, with a rectangular pane of glass located in the middle, the house extending thirty meters outwards on either side. Every few meters was a sectioned window, one on each story, the glass panes seperated by white, painted wood. It was certainly a grand building, but it played a far more important role to the residents of Nordain. It was an unofficial monument in remembrance to Nicholas Arc, the man who almost single-handedly defended the town from one of the biggest grimm attacks in the region's recent history. It had occurred during the Second Great War, just over fifty years ago.

The Suppressionist regime had believed that the best way to combat the Grimm had been to hide from them, suppressing all emotions in an effort to disappear from the Creatures' senses. They reasoned that good things such as peace and happiness didn't last, and that when they eventually came to an end, the negative emotions felt would be all the more stronger for the loss. So in an effort to keep the the global emotional state as neutral as possible, the four kingdoms enforced a type of society that kept people from expressing themselves. After all, what better way to hide from monsters who seek and destroy humanity than to stop being human? Children were taught how to suppress their emotions in schools, adults were made to attend mandatory suppressionist courses and monthly psyche evaluations. Any form of art or music was banned. Dance was banned. Almost all books aside from non-fiction were banned. Wearing excessively colorful clothing was frowned upon and even fined in some cases. Life wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't bright. It was like living your life in a black and white photograph.

The craziest thing though, was that it was actually quite effective. In the first seven years of the Supressionist regime, Grimm attacks on settlements and travelers reached an all-time low, only happening every few months, some places going as long as a year without seeing so much as a Beowolf. For the faunus, it was the closest to true equality they had ever had. Since they contributed to the worlds emotional state, the kingdoms implemented drastic changes and laws in order to improve the faunus' admitably shitty life-style. Tyrannical and oppressive they may have been, but they were also fair. Poverty was practically non-existent. The wealthy's money was used to raise the poor to an equilibrium, and for seven years, the world existed in a state of calm.

And then everything fell apart.

If there was one thing that humans and faunus had in common, it was their rage at having their freedoms taken from them, though ironically, members of the former had no qualms about subjecting the latter to such a thing. As the fifth year drew to a close, discontent at the stagnating society began to brew. People had grown restless and were frustrated of the same routine day in and day out. They were bored. Boredom led some to depression and others to frustration. The frustration led to anger and at the end of the seventh year, the anger led to an all out rebellion.

All the negative emotions people had been bottling up for years exploded all at once. And as the negativity rose, so did the enemy. The low and still falling number of Grimm attacks did an about-face and made a mad dash for the opposite end of the spectrum. News of entire towns and villages dissappearing under the black bodies of the creatures became commonplace, and if you wanted to go anywhere, it had to be by bullhead. It raised your chances of surviving the journey to a whopping

thirty eight percent. If you planned on traveling by land, you might as well carry your tombstone with you, because you were as screwed as an altar boy in the Vatican.

And so upon hearing the reports of a massive horde of grimm consisting of various species making a beeline for his home town, Nicholas had pleaded with his superiors in the Valitian army to send reinforcements, and when they refused, citing that Nordain was a lost cause, he abandoned his post as a luitenant to rush back and co-ordinate a defense against the tide of darkness. He did so just in time.

Nicholas only had seven hours to prepare the town and its residents before the first few Beowolves rushed out of the tree line, followed by Boarbatusks, churning up the earth as they spun. Then came Ursai, then Deathstalkers, then Griffins, at least two King Taijitu's, hell there was even a fucking Gheist wearing the partially eaten corpses of the horde's previous victims. Needless to say, the sight of a Grimm using a veritable mountain of half eaten cadavers as a body, walking towards them, was enough to make some of the towns people pass out, while others divested their stomachs of their earlier meals.

Nicholas however, didn't hesitate, and charged forward while booming a war cry. The sight of the large man clad in silver armor fearlessly charging towards the abyss with sword and shield in hand inspired the rest of the on-duty huntsman to follow, albeit scared shitless. They kept the Grimm from entering the town for over an hour, the sturdy walls of the town forming a natural choke-point they could defend.

Then the first huntsman fell, then the next, and the next. One by one they were cut down or broken or gored, yet the ones able to fight kept fighting, even after they retreated and the town was over-run. As the air grew thick with the black smoke of dissipating Grimm and the smell of used gunpowder, the older, more intelligent creatures seemed to realize they were fighting a losing battle and retreated back into the forest, leaving the younger and significantly weaker monsters to be slaughtered by the remaining huntsman. They had won, but not unscathed.

Many civilians had been found cowering in their homes by Grimm and were killed. A few huntsman still alive at the end of the battle succumbed to their wounds within hours. Nicholas, who had killed more Grimm than any other, was miraculously still alive, albeit missing an arm, his other hand, a leg, several teeth and parts of a few vital organs. Despite his injuries and the noble manner in which he gained them, the Valitian military caught up to Nicholas several days later and court marshalled him for deserting. He spent the remainder of the war in a military prison.

Upon returning home at its conclusion and the Suppressionists defeat, he was shocked to see the veritable mansion the Nordain populace had built as a symbol of gratitude for his bravery. He spent the remainder of his life in the Arc house with his wife and their six children. He had wanted to have more, but well... it was a bit hard to do that when your dick and balls had been chomped off by Beowolf now wasn't it.

After the Suppresionists defeat, a new government had been installed, one that promoted creativity and expression, and as a result, coupled with the fact that the war was over, people grew happier and the Grimm attacks dropped to a more manageable level. Now, fifty years later, as the sun rose over the forest canopy and the birds began to sing, the townspeople of Nordain were reminded that they owed their serene and peaceful lifestyle to the man who used to live in that house.

"KIDS, GET UP OR YOU'LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

"SHUT UP YOU OLD HAG, I'M A FUCKING ADULT I DON'T HAVE SCHOOL!"

"LILY, THAT'S MY CEREAL. DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH IT!"

"YOU'VE BEEN IN THERE FOR EVER. GET OUT, I NEED TO PEE!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU JAUNE!"

"OLD!?"

So it was ironic that his descendants and the current Arc generation were the ones to most often disturb it. Between the sibling rivalries of eight children, the fiery temperament of their mother and said mother's rather... _enthusiastic _and extremely _vocal _late-night activities with her husband, it was no wonder there was a sizable gap between the Arc mansion and their closest neighbors.

~**Line Break~**

Jaune Arc had woken up that morning feeling good, better than anyone had any right to be at 6:30 am on a monday morning. He felt full to the brim with energy, like he could run a marathon and finish feeling more alive than when he started. It was as if his body had cleansed itself over night and he had been restored to peak health.

So good was his mood that he decided he'd be a darling little brother and wake his second eldest sister Claire up. Now Claire was not what one would call a morning person, or a day person really. Not a people person either, or an especially nice person. In fact, Juane had to admit she was kind of a bitch to most people. Having been woken a few minutes earlier by Lily's shouting as she made her way downstairs, she was likely to be extremely irritable and whoever disturbed her next was sure to have their heads bitten off. Jaune was indeed a brave soul.

... Or just plain stupid, considering he was currently drawing a smiley face over her sleeping one with shaving cream.

'_Almost done', _Jaune mentally snickered as he started to apply shaving cream over her right eyebrow.

'_There', _he though proudly as he finished, before taking out his scroll and snapping a couple of shots, including a selfie of his incredibly smug face next to Claire's sleeping, foam covered one. '_Now to wake her up and see her reaction. Man I'm going to love this'. _He always got the best reactions out of her.

Using the corner of the bedsheet, Juane lightly tickeled Claire under her nose, at the edge of one of her nostrils. Her sleeping face contorted into something resembling a frown - it was hard to tell with it being mostly covered in foam - as she rolled over onto her side, smearing shaving cream all over her pillow.

Claire raised her hand to lazily swat at the fly, or whatever it was that was on her face and disturbing her sleep. Her hand however, upon coming into contact with her face, felt some soft and sticky substance covering it. This was enough for her semi-conscious brain to register that something was wrong as she opened her eyes and looked at her hand. Their was some sort of white, sticky cream smeared over hand, and more on her face by the feel of it. Turning her head, she saw her only brother standing there looking smug and slightly expectantly at her, the same way one watches a volcano on the verge of eruption.

As Claire's bleary mind tried to process what was going on, Juane spied an item of interest on his sisters desk pushed against the wall on the opposite side of the bed. It was a box.

A box of tampons.

A _recently opened _box of tampons.

A _recently opened _and_ partially empty _box of tampons.

As one of two males living in a house with five adolescent females, Jaune was _very_ aware of the implications. The smug grin on his face froze as he contemplated just how immensely he had fucked up. '_This... is bad. So very very bad,' _he internally panicked.

Jaune watched as Claire caught sight of the can in his hand and realization dawned on her. '_I am completely and utterly screwed,' _Jaune whimpered.

Claire's murderous expression confirmed these thoughts. With an inarticulate shout of rage, she threw the covers off herself and made a lunge for Jaune as he desperately scrambled for the door. It wasn't fully open, and the split second spent opening it nearly cost Jaune. Claire's hand reached for the back of his pajama shirt as he darted through the doorway, her fingers brushing against the back of his collar, before she ran face first into an invisible, stretchy and slightly sticky wall.

'_Thank Oum for shrinkwrap,' _Jaune grinned as he watched his sister run face first into the sheet of sticky plastic he had stretched across the doorway in anticipation of a reaction like this, smooshing the rest of the shaving cream all over her face and into her hair, the white foam contrasting sharply with her black bob-cut. '_And thank you past self for having such excellent foresight.'_

The plastic only bought him a second though, as with another shriek of rage, Claire wiped the cream from her blue eyes, tore through the plastic and chased after an already running Jaune. While Jaune was taller and had longer legs, he was only fifteen and still rather scrawny. Claire on the other hand was a twenty two, a fully grown adult woman. A fully grown adult woman who was gaining on him. Jaune risked a look back and his heart nearly stopped. Claire's positively _deranged_ face looked back at him from three feet away. Jaune felt a burst of panic that only a sibling running from an angry, much scarier sibling could feel.

'_Too close, too close, too close,' _Jaune chanted in his head, while out loud he rythmically repeated a single word.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-" Still swearing Juane turned his head forward and felt the panic intensify as he saw Holly standing outside the locked bathroom door... which was ten feet in front of him. His swearing intensified. He was running too fast to stop, and if he crashed into her he would really hurt her. Holly, Lily and Tulip were rather small for their eleven years of age. At the speed he was running he would _break _her. More importantly, Claire would catch him and drop kick his ass off this mortal coil, not only for his earlier prank, but for hurting one of the triplets. She was as abrasive as sandpaper and blunter than a hammer to the balls, but she loved her family more than anything.

That didn't mean she wouldn't throw him through the window for hurting the cuter members. She'd done it before.

Jaune was all but pissing himself now. He couldn't stop or Claire would catch him and kill him. He couldn't keep running or he would hurt one of his beloved sisters and Claire would still catch and kill him, only she'd do it by defenestration. Neither of those where an option. He had to do something. _Anything. _

"-FUCK!"

With a final, loud expletive, Jaune planted his left foot on the ground just in front of Holly's alarmed, diminutive form, lifted his right foot and _spun. _Time seemed to move slower than usual as he executed a near perfect pirouette around the young strawberry blonde. As he was turning, Jaune ended up facing Claire and Holly for a few split-seconds, and saw identical impressed and surprised looks on their faces. If he had the time he'd be impressed with himself too.

Jaune had always been a little clumsy, and since puberty had hit, he'd gotten even clumsier on account of his body parts growing rapidly and out of sync with each other. The _impossibly _graceful move he'd just pulled off should have been outside of his abilities, but Jaune didn't stop to contemplate this. He had a chance now and he was damn well going to take it.

"Swear!" he heard Holly's voice call out behind him, referencing his earlier cursing.

Jaune was nonplussed. Between his impressive bout of dexterity, nearly crashing into her because he was running scared shitless from their elder sister and said elder sisters enraged and cream covered face, that's what she chose to focus on?

"You can bite my ankles for it later, half-pint!" Jaune shouted over his shoulder.

Not a second later he heard heavy footfalls behind him as Claire got over her surprise and resumed chasing her prey, but Jaune knew her efforts were in vain. At this pace he would reach the staircase before her, then it was just a simple matter of sliding down the bannister to the second floor, doing the same to get to the first, getting into the kitchen where his mother was cooking breakfast, and he was safe. No matter how scary Claire was, she didn't stand a chance against Vanessa Arc, especially not in the kitchen.

Jaune grinned as he turned the corner and came up on the staircase. He was safe. He was free. He was _falling. _One moment he felt like galloping stallion and the next it was as if the connection between his brain and his body had been severed. With dull thud Jaune's head painfully connected with the wooden floor. Sparks erupted in front of his eyes and he heard something ring in his ears before gradually fading away over a few seconds.

"Jaune!" He heard Claire's suddenly very concerned voice calling from a few feet away, her previously mentioned familial affection making itself apparent. "Are you okay?"

Jaune shook away the sparks and gingerly felt the spot where his head had impacted the floor. He winced; he'd definitely have a goose egg there tomorrow. Other than that, he felt fine. The sparks and ringing in his ears were fading, and after a few seconds had completely disappeared. His body felt like it did

"Yeah, I think I'm fine, just going to have one hell of a bruise later," he said.

"You sure? That looked like nasty hit to the noggin," she asked, before snorting. "Seriously, you go and pull a stunt that looked like some hardcore Black Swan shit and then you go and trip over your own feet. You're such a klutz."

'_That's not what happened __though,' _thought Jaune while glaring at her. He'd been running as fast as he'd ever been, and then he was just suddenly... dizzy. His vision had warped, his senses had shut down and his body had just failed and went limp, like a puppet with its strings cut_. 'What was that?'_

Well, I think we've learnt a valuable lesson today, haven't we brother dearest?" asked Claire, her grin turning sinister, causing him to eye her warily. He was still lying spread-eagled on the ground, if she chose to attack he was done for.

"And what's that?"

"Karma's a bitch. _My _bitch."

**~Line Break~**

Routine meals for the Arc family would have been big enough for a family gathering by anyone else's standards, but for them it was normal. Feeding a nine person family - ten when Diana came home on the weekends - required a lot of food. The majority of the family was currently sitting at the large, pine table, the only ones absent being Diana, the eldest, who was studying at a culinary school in Vale, and their father and husband, Malcolm, who normally spent his mornings in the forge behind the house.

Malcolm wasn't the only blacksmith in Nordain, but he was the only technician and weapon smith. The other one almost exclusively did decorative work. Due to him being the only person the on-duty huntsman could go to to get their weapons repaired, maintained or altered, and in addition to their mom's job as a rail engineer, the family could afford their ungodly food quota.

Seriously, Jaune shouldn't be the string bean that he was. His thin frame was a bit of sore spot for him.

_'Huntsman aren't skinny,' _his dad would say every time he brought up his desired career path. According to him, huntsman also weren't wimpy, soft, completely useless at any form of combat, irresponsible, barely passing math, etc. The fact that all of that was true never stopped Jaune from determinedly declaring that he _would _be a huntsman one day, and this in turn never failed to spark a shouting match between the two. There was a significant strain on their relationship as of a month ago after a particularly bad argument.

Jaune just couldn't understand why his father wouldn't support him in his dream. All he wanted to be was a huntsman. Ever since he'd heard the stories of his great grandfather and his bravery, that was all he ever wanted to be: the hero, the savior, the knight in shining armor who swept in and saved the day.

Of course he'd outgrown thoughts such as these, but the desire and feelings they had invoked never left; they still burned strong, flaring greatly whenever his father condemned his choice. Jaune was glad he wasn't present at the moment.

Vanessa sat at one end of the table, while the other was where Malcolm usually sat. She looked nearly identical to Claire, though her black hair was usually pulled into a ponytail as opposed to Claire's bob-cut, and her eyes were brown. Their temperaments were also very similiar, though their mother had had about twenty extra years to mellow out a bit.

Messing with her was still tantamount to signing your death warrant.

To her left and right were the triplets and Macie respectively, the youngest of the bunch. The triplets- Holly, Lily and Tulip- had celebrated their eleventh birthday two months ago and were all identical; they all had strawberry-blonde hair, their mothers brown eyes, and unlike the rest of the family, tanned skin. They were an outgoing, social trio; the amount of friends they had had over for their birthday party/sleepover had actually filled all the guest rooms in the house, and that was with them sleeping on the floor.

Practically the only thing that differentiated them were their chosen hobbies, of which they were extremely good at. Tulip was the star athlete of the middle school she and her sisters attended, with a strong inclination towards swimming. The amount of gold that littered the mantle above the fire place was enough to make a dragon blush and shift uncomfortably.

Holly liked to dance. She'd started around Macie's age-eight-and had swiftly gone through hip-hop, ballroom dancing, and was currently trying to master ballet, which she found more difficult than the other styles she had tried.

Lily... well she was a bit different. If you couldn't find her in the house, you'd find her in their fathers forge. She wouldn't be swinging a hammer anytime soon, especially with her small frame, but under her fathers tutelage, she had learnt to take apart and reassemble small appliances and basic electronics... and a few guns. Their mother was not happy with that last one, but even she had been impressed at the sight of an eleven year old wisp of a girl strip, clean and reassemble an assault rifle the size of her torso in under five minutes.

Macie was the youngest of the bunch. She had smooth auburn hair that framed her cute little face, with big, violet eyes that would brim with tears at a moments notice. Those 'moments' were usually the instances where she got caught with her metaphorical hand in the metaphorical cookie jar, though was a literal case of her doing that once. She was an adorable little angel. Jaune was 90% sure of that. The other 10% was still wondering how one 'accidentally' set their brothers bed on fire after he had denied her cookies, especially when he was _sure_ he'd locked his door when he'd left that day.

...Meh, he was probably just imagining things.

Jaune sat on the other side of Macie with Saffron on his right. He honestly loved his sisters with all his heart, but out of all of them, he was closest to Saffron. She'd been born at the beginning of January, and the night she'd been brought home from the hospital was the same night that Jaune had been conceived. You'd think that after going through the hell that is child birth for the third time, one wouldn't be so eager for another pregnancy, but Jaune's parents had wasted no time in doing just that and eight months and two weeks later, he'd popped into existence. They weren't twins, but they were in the same year at school and they sure acted like it some times; and as they both looked like gender bent versions of one another, they were often mistaken for twins.

Claire sat on the other side of the table next to Lily, munching on her toast as she fiddled with her laptop on the table in front of her. Claire had gone to a graphics engineering school after she had graduated, had then gotten a job for a kids cartoon channel, and she _still_ lived at home. This was a source of many arguements between Claire and her mother, though Vanessa had yet to kick her out. Jaune suspected his older sister just didn't want to leave her family.

As the siblings finished up breakfast and went to go grab their school bags, their mother turned to him.

"What was all that screaming about earlier? It sounded like someone had let a Boarbatusk loose up there."

Holly giggled as she tried to stuff her ballet pointe in next to her school books.

"Claire was trying to kill Jaune, so he was running from her and he nearly killed me, but then he did a pirouette around me and nearly escaped her, but then he fainted like a wuss," she jabbered in an excited rush, before frowning as she realized her shoes weren't going to fit. She eventually shrugged and removed and discarded her maths textbook to make room.

"I'm actually kind of jealous," she continued. " It took me ages to get my pirouettes like that, and then you go and do it without even trying."

"Yeah, well you're lucky I did half-pint; if I had run into you at that pace I would have sent your skinny butt through the wall," said Jaune, who was waiting by the door.

Holly glared at him as she shouldered her bag and walked over to where Lily and Tulip were standing and watching with small grins.

Then she grinned a grin that did not belong on an eleven year old's face. "Oh, and Jaune said a swear. Lots of swears actually."

Jaune added onto that tally as he mentally cussed out the little traitor, though he knew she had landed a critical hit. _Holly 1 - Jaune 0. _

Jamie's mom turned to him with a smile that promised punishment. "Jaune?"

Jaune glanced at Saffron for help, only to see folded arms and a shit-eating grin. She was enjoying this too much to help out. _'Et tu, Saf?' _Jaune thought, feeling slightly betrayed.

"When one is fearing for their life, one tends to use profanity to express said fear and to demonstrate the amount of danger to others in their vicinity. It's basic evolutionary trait, really." Jaune chose his words very carefully. If he could get his mom to smile he was in the free and clear.

The corner of her mouth twitched briefly. _Yes!_

"And what would one such individual have to do to acquire said life-threatening danger, hmm?" she asked.

From her place at the table, which was in the dining room just to the right of the front door, Claire scoffed as she tapped away at her keyboard. "The idiot covered my face with shaving cream while I slept, and when I chased after the moron I ran face first into some cling-wrap he'd stretched across the doorframe."

"Trust me, if I'd known it was that time of the month I wouldn't have gone near you," Jaune grumbled. "Ow!"

Every female in his immediate vicinity had reached over and given him a not-so-gentle smack, excluding Macie of course. The little bugger dished out her punishment in a much more subtle way.

"What's that time of the month?" she asked with a cute head tilt, and Jaune was promptly smacked again for mentioning something like menstruation in front of the 'baby' of the family.

"Hey!" Jaune exclaimed as he held up his arms to ward of any further attacks. He eyed Macie suspiciously. _'Did she do that on purpose?'_ He took in her wide eyes and inquisitive smile. _'Of course she didn't, what was I thinking? I mean look at the little angel,' _he mentally cooed.Still, Jaune couldn't help but feel slightly on guard.

"Look, can we just go? We're going to miss the rail if we don't leave soon."

"Sure sweetie," said Vanessa as she opened the door and held it for them as they filed through. "With the amount of stupid things you've done today so far, I'm not sure we can afford to deprive you of your education," she teased.

Claire smugly added her two cents from the dining room. "I think it's safe to say that intelligence is not a flower that grows in Jaune's garden."

Jaune deadpanned in her general direction through the wall that separated the entryway and the dining hall. _She_ was trying to _out-sass _him? _Him?_

"Come talk to me when you have a garden, sis," he replied without missing a beat. With that, he followed his siblings out the door, giving a satisfied smile at hearing his mom and Saffron's laughter and the indignant sputtering from behind him.

**~Line Break~**

There were three ways one could get into Nordain, each being used to varying degrees. The least used way was by bullhead, which, due to its sky-high cost, really just carried huntsman to and from Vale as their shifts changed every few weeks.

The second was by road. Not the safest method of travel, as you had a decent chance of running into some Grimm. It was mostly merchants who traveled from town to town, selling the newest products and tecknology from the capitol, that used this method. They usually hired a few huntsman or arua-awakened mercenaries to gaurd them.

The last method of travel was by far the most popular. The rail system. Extremely fast, the chances of a Grimm attack were none existant, and it costed next to nothing, since it was a government facility. It was this system that the youth of Nordain used to travel to Shion, the next town over.

Nordain had the basic things a town needed to function. A few apothecaries for the sick, a shelter in the event of a Grimm invasion, a communications tower, various shops that provided goods to the public, etc. One thing it did not have, was a school. Shiord was significantly bigger than Nordain, and had both a highschool and a middle school. And so every morning, the kids would pile into the rail cars and settle in for the half-hour journey to Shion.

This was where Jaune was, currently sitting in his window seat and watching as the green foliage of the forest blurred past outside. He was frowning; he wasn't feeling too good. Actually that wasn't the right way to describe his current state of being. He felt perfectly fine; perfectly healthy. In fact, that strange liveliness he had woken up with was acting in full force, he felt great.

But there was something else now. Ever since that weird... _shut down _he'd had this morning, it was as if his body had been out of sync with his mind.

It was hard to notice at first. It had been small things, like when he'd reached to grab the salt at breakfast, only to find it in his hand, having grabbed it with out realizing. Or when he'd gone to butter his toast, he saw that he'd already done so. At the time, he'd dismissed them as moments of inattentiveness, but now he could _feel _his thoughts fogging up, slowing. There was a clear disconnect between his mind and his body, which seemed to be reacting to his thoughts a few moments before he'd even thought them. It was extremely disconcerting, and left Jaune wondering if his earlier Liverpool Kiss with the floor had done more damage than he'd thought.

'_If ever there was a human version of lag, this would be it,'_ he mused to himself.

His head turned towards Saffron across from him without reason or his consent, and only a second later did he understand why.

"Are you okay Jaune?" he heard her ask, but her lips hadn't moved. He'd only heard what she said now, but she had spoken when his head had still been turned to the window. It was like watching a movie with the audio playing a few seconds behind.

"I'm not sure, I'm feeling a little out of focus," he carefully replied a few seconds later. "That hit to the head might have been a little harder than it felt."

Saffron paused and looked at him with a concerned frown. "Should we swing by the the hospital? The girls know how to get to their school from the station."

After processing the sentence, Jaune shook his head. "No, I don't think it's that serious yet, I'm just having trouble focusing. If we miss the first few periods of school to go to the hospital, they're going to call mom. Mom is going to want to know where we are and if she finds out we're at the hospital, she will freak."

"She might have good reason to. A hit to the head could be serious Jaune."

"Well it doesn't feel serious. Look, let's just go about our day and if it doesn't clear up or it gets worse, you can drag me to the doctors by my ear, okay?"

She fixed him with an intense stare for a few moments, her big sister instincts making a rare appearance, before nodding slowly. "Fine, but if I get called out of class to take your unconscious ass to the hospital, I'll do so while wearing it as a slipper, got it?"

"Don't pass out or you'll lodge your foot so far up my posterior I'll be tasting shoe leather, got it." Jaune nodded, a shiver going down his spine. Why were all his sisters so violent?

The train arrived at Shion station a few minutes later and crowd of students in white and blue school uniforms disembarked. Macie took Tulip's hand and, along with Holly and Lily, walked off to the middle school that was just down the road from the high school. Both were a short walk from the station, for conveniences sake.

Jaune and Saffron joined the crowd of teenagers that were making their way to a large, well maintained building, with an equally well cared for sports field just next to it. Large windows lined all three stories of the brick walls, and if one looked up they'd be able to see a railing lining the roof. Technically, students weren't allowed on the school roof, but it was never locked and hardly ever monitored so you had a pretty good chance of getting away with it.

As the pair walked to their lockers, which were conveniently located next to each other, Jaune could feel his mind syncing back up with his body. There was still a delay between the two, but he could feel it growing shorter. He felt a little relieved at this; he'd played it off earlier when speaking to Saffron, but he couldn't help but be concerned himself. No matter what anyone else said, having your mind lag behind your body after hitting your head was never a good thing. Now that the lag was fading, he felt more comfortable, less anxious. Maybe today would turn out alright, even if it was a Monday.

"Hey, Jauney boy, wait up. You have something of mine."

_'I just had to fucking jinx it, didn't I? _Thought Jaune with a silent groan. Looking to his right, he could see a scowl adorning his sisters face, and realized a few seconds later that he was wearing one too. He smoothed his features as fast as his temporarily impaired faculties would allow. When dealing with Corduroy Pike, it was best to show as little agression as possible, it was only an invitation for him to respond in kind.

Turning, he and Saffron were greeted with a cocky smirk that practically lived on the tanned boys face. Corduroy, or Cord as people called him, was synonymous with bad news. He was known throughout school, Shion and Nordain for being an aggressive delinquent with a more than a few confrontations with law enforcement under his belt. His father was one of the few permanently based huntsman in the region, and a good one too, so he never really got more than a sharp slap on the wrist for all the shit he caused. His father had taught him how to fight properly, and he seemed to take that as permission to use those skills on anyone that pissed him off. He'd started more than a few fights, and won all of them.

He both looked and acted like a thug. 'Cord' wasn't just a shortening of his name; he was incredibly lean and packed with layer upon layer of dense muscle, giving people the impression of a dense steel cable for reasons they couldn't quite put their finger on. He probably would have been a star athlete for Shion high, except he didn't have half a shit to give about getting involved with school activities. His hair hung down around his neck in copper colored strands, framing his slim face. His dark eyes had a near constant malicious glint to them and his aforementioned smirk showed off slightly crooked teeth. He wasn't especially tall, Jaune actually had a few inches on him, but he had an intimidating aura about him that gave people bad vibes.

Jaune was ashamed to say that somewhere down the line, he'd become this degenerates personal whipping boy. It had started when he had first arrived at Shion High School; Cord was standing by the front doors, waiting to ambush any of the new students who looked like they'd be fun to mess with. Jaune had been unfortunately punctual. He'd ended up without lunch money and a slight bruise where Cord had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

The day after that the same thing happened. When he started being packed lunches instead the food would end up in his hair or on the ground. The situation just got progressively worse from there: doing his homework for him, 'loaning' him money, the occasional beating or public humiliation. If it had been televised in a cliché TV series or movie, Cord had done it. Jaune had tried going to the teachers, but all they did was give him uncomfortable looks and muttered something along the lines of talking to his parents.

It was more like they nervously informed his father, Sage Pike, about what was going on and he intimidated them into letting the matter slide. He was a very influential man in the region, and while not as bad as his son, Jaune had heard he could be a right bastard.

So the teachers let it slide, and once Jaune figures out why, he pretty much gave up. There was no way he was telling his parents what was happening. His mother might actually kill Cord and his father and his dad... he'd be proving him right. He'd be proving how weak he was.

And so Jaune endured, hating himself for it, and here he stood.

"You do have it, right?" asked Cord the malicious glint in his eye shining out like a beacon to Jaune.

"Have what, Cord?" ground out Saffron from beside him. It had been difficult convincing her to keep what was happening from their parents, but once he explained his reasoning, she reluctantly agreed. Mostly due to what he said about their dad, she'd probably help Vanessa kill the turd given the chance.

She had her arms crossed in front of her and was leveling an acidic glare at the still-smirking teen in front of them. Jaune didn't like Cord in the slightest, but Saffron detested him. She called him a violent, sociopathic, IQ deficient thug who had yet to discover the wonders of shampoo; all of which was true...

"Hey baby girl, how's my golden-haired goddess doing today, hm?" Asked said greasy moron, his voice suddenly turning smarmy.

...but none of that grated on her nerves as much as the fact that he _wouldn't stop hitting on her. _

"Call me that again and I'll string you up on the flag pole by your testicles." Saffron's tone was glacial. "Now answer me, what is Jaune meant to have for you?"

Cord gave a big grin and threw his arm around Jaunes suddenly stiff shoulders. "Him and I came to an arrangement on Wednesday you see. Ms. Clemen gave us a few pages of questions to do for homework, and Jauney here generously offered to to help fill in everything I'd left out for me."

_'Which was everything,' _thought Jaune to himself. Saffron's eyes widened slightly while Cord's suddenly narrowed. _'Whoops,' _thought Jaune two seconds later as he heard his voice say what he'd meant to be a private thought. _'Maybe that wasn't as 'to myself' as I'd thought.'_

He really hadn't meant to say that. This could be bad. Cord was like a gun with a hair trigger - one wrong move could lead to a violent outcome. _Why had he said that? _It must be the lag. His body was just spouting what ever his mind wanted to say without screening it first. He had to tread carefully here.

Cord's grip around his shoulders tightened threateningly. "Well yes, but seeing as we settled on this arrangement without you being hurt, I'd say it was a fair agreement, wouldn't you? We wouldn't have to go back on that would we?"

His intimidation tactics, while crude and unoriginal, still worked on Jaune, if for no other reason than he knew the other boy could and would follow through on them. He'd been on the receiving end of a few of Cord's 'light' beatings before, and honestly, they were dangerous in a life-threatening sense. Though the instances in which these beatings had occurred were rare, each time they'd happened he'd walked away with a severely bruised face and torso, along with split lips and bloody noses.

Jaune also remembered what had happened to the only guy Cord had ever fought seriously. The only reason he hadn't been arrested after beating the guy into unconsciousness was because the other guy had pulled a knife and attacked him first, so everything Cord had done to him afterwards was technically considered self-defense. Jaune was pretty sure he was still in a coma.

Jaune was legitimately scared of him. So what if he was a wimp? So what if he allowed himself to be bullied? So what if he did the guys homework for him every now and then? His pride wasn't worth the beating it would cost to keep it. It wasn't like he could fight back...

Jaune hung his head, feeling shame course through him. His dad was right, he was weak.

"No, we won't," he muttered, digging through his bag for the four pages of biology questions that he now wanted to rip up more than anything. He didn't look up, he didn't want to see the concerned and disappointed gaze he knew Saffron was giving him.

"Good, I don't think you could afford to hurt that pretty face; give the girls more of a reason to say no, huh? Oh! It looks like someone beat me too it," he said, spotting the light bruise on his head from this morning.

"He he. _Beat. _See what I did there sweetness?"

'Sweetness' looked like she was about to go for the throat.

Cord then spoke to Jaune, looking Saffron up and down with a leer. "You have such a beautiful sister Jauney, I can't wait until she finally gives in to me and I can make her scream."

Jaune froze in the middle of handing him the papers. '_That's my sister. That's my fucking sister and he's eyeing her like she's some back-alley whore he plans on commissioning.' _

A cold, icy rage swept through Jaune, like he'd been plunged into the waters of Northern Atlas. He could deal with Cord harassing him, but if he started on Saffron, his _sister,_ he would fucking murder him.

_'Who the fuck does he think he is? Who the fuck gave him the right to-'_

_'You did.'_

The thought came out of nowhere and cut through his mental rant. _He _was the one not doing anything. He was the one who _never_ did anything_. _Others had stepped up to Cord before and while they hadn't come out unscathed, it was he who was being picked on... who was _allowing_ himself to be picked on.

The cold anger intensified, but this time at himself. _'I want to be huntsman, to help people, and I can't even stand up for myself. Am I really just going to stand here and watch this fucktard ogle my sister?'_

With each passing moment his rage grew. His blood pumped hot and loud in his ears, causing them to ring.

_'Fucking hell no! I'm not going to prove dad right. I will be a huntsman! I will help others! I will _not_ be a fucking coward!_

He turned to Cord, the homework clenched in his fists. _'And I'm going to make good on that last part right now,' _he thought, both utterly terrified and incredibly excited.

He lifted his hand and tore the papers in half.

You know when you're left in class without supervision and everybody starts talking and shouting over one another to be heard, but then the teacher walks in and everybody goes silent except for that one kid who keeps on shouting for a few moments before realization dawns.

That moment of silence occurred exactly as the paper tore, allowing the the sound to carry out to students around them, gaining their attention. Of course their attention only gained more attention and before long the small corridor was silent and staring.

_'I will not be a coward,' _Jaune repeated, albeit weaker than before. He could feel the stares of nearly forty students on them. Nonetheless, his anger spurred him on. Layering one half of the torn paper on top of the other, he tore them again, right in front of Cords stunned and incredulous face.

Jaune allowed the pieces to flutter to the ground, before getting as close as was heterosexually acceptable, and glared murderously down at someone who scared him shitless.

"Look at her like that ever again, and I will do to you what the Beowulf did to my grandfather, understand?" He asked, doing a pretty good impression of said creatures growl.

Cord was to stunned to respond, and so just stood there gawking as several seconds passed.

...

...

...

"...You're going to chomp his-?"

"Well of course I'm not going to bite his bloody balls off myself," Jaune snapped at the brave random that had spoken. "I'll find someone willing and I'll pay them to do it. Probably a hobo, they're desperate, and they have fewer teeth. It might make it more painful for the bastard."

The utter bizarreness of the statement ensured a few more seconds of silence as it was processed, and it's speaker critically judged, but Jaune was on a roll and he wasn't stopping. The ringing in his ears rose to a crescendo.

"I'm done done being scared of you, you jackass moron! If you want to spout of a scene from some highschool drama over and over, day after day like a damn parrot, well then you can go fuck yourself Polly, because I'm through playing the part of the weak, helpless victim, and my sister will never, _ever, _play the part of the slut like you want her to."

Jaune inhaled, "If you fuck with me again I'll fight you, and if you come near Saffron again, she'll kick your balls into your chest cavity while I go find a desperate enough homeless person to remove them completely. Let's see how intimidating you are when you can only threaten us lowly peasants in falsetto, great lord Eunuch."

At this point Jaune was panting from the exertion of unloading all of his anger in one, loud tirade. It was as if someone had fired a gun next to his ears they were ringing so loud. His peers looked stunned; Saffron looked like she couldn't decide on whether to be proud of him or to gawk like the rest.

"You think you're so high and mighty up on your pedestal, don't you? Well I've got new perch for you birdie," Jaune thrusted his middle finger in front of Cord's face. "Swivel on it."

He barely dodged the fist that flew past his nose. Cord had evidently gotten over his shock and had thrown a straight punch at his face with a look of apoplectic rage. By some miracle he'd been able to move his head to the side in time.

_'How on earth did I avoid that?' _Jaune's eyes widened as he felt the displaced air brush his cheek. If Cord had wanted to hit him, he would have hit him, he was much faster than Jaune.

_'So why- Sweet Fucking Oum!' _He hastily leant back, allowing Cord's follow-up right cross to whizz in front of his face, before hastily backing up. The enraged teen let out a wordless, guttural roar, his oily, coppery hair flying around his face as he let lose with a low kick, aiming to knock Jaune off his feet. It would have worked against anyone else, and it should have worked against Jaune, but yet again he managed to see it coming and mostly dodge it, only receiving a glancing blow. He dodged the next one as well, and the one after it. Cord seemed to get angrier with each miss, and the crowd seemed to get more excited.

_'Am I actually doing this?' _Thought Jaune in bewilderment. He couldn't believe it! He was actually surviving in a fight against _the _Corduroy Pike! Granted he wasn't actually attacking, just retreating in a slightly coordinated and experienced looking manner, but that was more than most people would have accomplished.

_'I'm the most badasserest badass that ever lived, dodging death by the skin of my teeth. Oum above couldn't stop me now, I'm the greatest, the best, the most-" _his swiftly growing ego was promptly knocked on its ass as Cord used his head for the first time since he in the fight.

Knowing Jaune would dodge it, he swung a overtly telegraphed haymaker at the taller boy. As expected, he swayed his head around it and to the right, and faster than anything he had thrown before, Cord lashed out with a lightning jab at his head.

_'- I am the most idiotic moron that ever lived. Fucking jinxed it,' _he had just enough time to think before a brick-like fist slammed into the spot between his eyes.

The blow sent him sprawling. He lay there on his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling. The ringing in his ears was now too loud, too real, actually turning into an audible, recognizable sound. The sparks that had danced in front of his eyes that morning reappeared in greater force, dancing and twirling in his vision.

Jaune heard how the crowd clamored, how Saffron was shouting frantically at him from the side and how there was shouting from further down the hall as the teachers finally arrived.

The sound, like elevator doors opening, drowned all of it out.

**Ping**

As if this was the cue to lose his sanity, Jaune began hallucinating. The sparks in front of his face coalesced into floating blue square, with bold text written covering its surface.

_'What-'_

**Percussive recalibration successful. Function(Component/Skill/'_Gamer's Mind'/upload) _complete.**

Jaune felt the last split second delay between his body and mind disappear, and saw the text in the floating window change.

_'-the actual-'_

**Congratulations, you have received and assimilated the Gamer's Reality, granted to you by a ?. You now possess a reality altering ability to help you achieve your greatest desires.**

**Once all queued notifications have been read, the tutorial will commence. **

_'-FUCK?'_

**AN: So like I said, my first story. Constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated, along with ideas for this story. I've got a good idea of where I want to go with this, but suggestions will be seriously considered. **

**Now I don't actually know what a flame is, but I believe they're considered bad. If so, please don't be a jackass and send one. So yeah, if this gets some good feedback I'll post another chapter, might post one regardless, but anyway, See you. **


	2. To be, or not to be(crazy)

**AN: Okay so it seems that quite a few people actually liked this story. Like I posted the chapter, left my phone for a bit and when I came back, my inbox was flooded with people favoriting the story and me, so thank you. **

**Just to clarify a few points:**

**1\. For the moment I have no idea as to what the pairing is going to be, but there will be a pairing. This is my first story and as such I've never written anything involving romance at all. I really like Harem fics (I'm a guy, it's my way of living out a fantasy I know is never going to happen), but I'm not sure how good I'll be at writing one. Then again I could say the same for single pairings, so I might as well just jump into the deep end. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.**

**2\. This is majorly AU. Seriously, the general plot will be the same, but everything else can and sometimes will be thrown out of the window at a moments notice. Enemies will be stronger, some people will live, others will die; some will leave and some will stay. Some will be OOC, some will stay just the same and some will set fire to cannon. Heck if you look hard enough you may even find Waldo in here. **

**3\. I am trying to make my story's world as close to Remnant as possible; stuff like mechanics, politics, history, economy, how aura works etc. so if I make a mistake with something like that or you come across an interesting piece of lore let me know in a review. It probably won't all be the same for a few plot purposes, but I'll try. **

**4\. So in the reviews I got, people got the impression I was just making Jaune weak as a reason for his father not to train him or something like that. Looking back, it does seem that way, but I promise I do have a valid reason for it. Allow me to explain. **

**So in cannon, good ol' Vomit boy showed up at Beacon with nothing but an old sword/shield combo, a fuck-ton of confindence he had no right to, a decent amount of brawn and a good attitude. He went there thinking that was all he really needed. As we all know, cannon Jaune is as far from badass as you can get. Badass is what I'm aiming for, and so badass he will eventually be. Emphasis on eventually. One thing I mentioned in the previous chapter is that I think making a character too OP too quickly ruins the story. Because then they just win every fight they get**** into, become a god, and then the story just devolves into them discovering better ways to destroy planets. There's no development, no suspense, no achievement. I _will_ have development, and I will start from a delusional, sub-par fifteen-year-old, who will soon realize that he needs to haul ass if he wants to get up to huntsman standards. **

**Those stories previously mentioned are not bad per se, just _boring. _So my Jaune is going to start off like cannon Jaune, thinking life is hunky dory and he can do anything if he just _believes_ in himself. Maybe he lifted a few weights to keep the guns oiled, but he didn't train at all because who needs to train when all you have to do is _believe_ that you can do it. **

**I will harshly disabuse him of this notion over the course of the next few chapters.**

**So reason Jaune is weak: DEVELOPMENT.**

**He has started out as delusional. He will not remain that way for long. **

**P.S His father's reasons for discouraging him will be explained much later, it's actually a semi-important part in the story later. **

**P.P.S To DiPG: thanks for the review man, I hope I explained my reasoning for Jaune's weakness well. Also I had planned on making Jaune a better strategist, as I find the best victories are the ones where the protagonist uses some genius, back-asswards plan to defeat a much stronger opponent. It's not going to be the focus of his abilities, as I plan on making him an all-rounder, but he's not going to win every fight with a Kamehameha if you know what I'm saying. **

**Also, it has come to my attention that Jaune's sister's name in cannon is spelt Saphron, whereas I thought she was named after the spice. For conveniences sake I'm going to keep it the way it is, but thank you for pointing that out. **

To be, or not to be (Crazy)

While the educators of Shion High could do little in the way of correcting or punishing Corduroy Pike's behavior-due to his father's adequately intimidating influence and numerous 'extenuating circumstances' - they did have a foolproof method of dealing with him 'in the moment'. These moments usually consisted of fights, getting caught cheating, vandalism, smoking, etc.

This method dealt with him in every instance, and was particularly effective when it was disturbed during free lessons or coffee breaks.

Alford Brunt was massive. Thickset and broad shouldered, he towered over everyone in the corridor as he pushed his way through the throng of excited students. He sent a dirty look over his shoulder to the small group of his colleagues who had dragged him from his morning cup of coffee. He was met with encouraging grins and a few thumbs up. Glowering, he resumed his struggle to the center of the crowd, easier now that a few students had realized he was there and were making themselves scarce.

He squeezed out into the small space the students had cleared just in time to see a seething Cord advancing on the sprawled, still form of a teenager Alford recognized as Jaune Arc. It was quite clear that he wasn't intending to help the scrawny kid up.

In two, long strides, the big man was behind him and grabbed his collar, throwing him back and away from Jaune. Cord stumbled slightly before regaining his footing and lifting his head to literally tear into whoever now stood between him and his prey, then hesitated.

Alford was perhaps the only staff member in the school who didn't give a rats ass about who his daddy was. He could match the huntsman threat for threat and scary glare for scary glare, like the one he was giving his son now. He was a retired huntsman himself, and had a mid-range prosthetic left arm to prove it. As was common among huntsman, he had lost it fighting a Grimm, though no-one knew the whole story; it wasn't exactly something you asked about.

Cord shook off the hesitation and advanced on Jaune again. He'd had many altercations with the gruff english teacher before, and while he had learned not to mess with the man, he was too angry to care at the moment. Jaune had just humiliated him in front of nearly forty of their peers, there was no way he was letting that stand.

"Back off Pike," growled out Alford, pointing a threatening metallic finger at his chest, his body turned sideways and his feet spread out wide beneath him. Despite his warning, he secretly hoped the little shitstain would give him an excuse to drag his ass to the principal and demand he be expelled. He should have been a long time ago, but the old kiss-ass caved under the pressure of the boy's father every time, and he got off with a slap on the wrist.

If he did something sufficiently stupid though, something neither the principal nor his father could just pass off, then his ass was grass. Considering Cord was just slightly smarter than a parakeet and had a temper like a stick of dynamite, Alford was surprised it had taken him this long to reach the 'stupid' levels of enraged.

"Get out of my way you old cripple, I need to murder that blonde bastard!" Cord was all but frothing at the mouth. He looked crazy, his eyes wide, teeth gritted and his whole body shaking in rage. He walked right into Alford's outstretched prosthetic, trying to get at Jaune.

The crowd around them looked on in anticipation, some torn between fleeing in the presence of an admittedly imposing teacher and staying to watch something they knew would be entertaining as hell.

Others already had their scrolls out.

"I said back off!" Alford bellowed, shoving Cord back a step.

In all fairness, Cord wasn't a complete moron. Even with his disregard for the rules, he knew that there were some things people just shouldn't do, like pissing into the wind, or sticking a fork into a toaster, or attacking a teacher as a student. It was just plain stupid.

That being said, Cord had done the first two things before in his life and was about to make an attempt for a trifecta.

He was someone whose life was ruled by emotions, if he wanted something he would take it. And right now his anger was screaming for Jaune's blood, Alford's agrresive push only compounding the demand.

As a result, the seldomly used part of his brain labeled 'better judgement' was once again bypassed when the message to kick was sent from his primary motor cortex to his leg.

Lashing out with a spartan kick, Cord aimed to plow through the teacher and resume kicking the crap out of the oddly still boy behind him.

Alford, expecting this, calmly shuffled to the side and trapped his leg inbetween his body and his arm, leaving the boy hopping on one foot in front of him. It wasn't the most dignified of positions.

The crowd around them nearly went berserk. This was what they had hoped would happen, but hadn't dared believe. That was Cord for you, blowing people's expectations of idiocy out of the water since 2004.

Cord growled in annoyance and anger, not only had that blonde pissant just humiliated him, now this old codger was making a fool out of him too (It wasn't taking much effort). He was not going to give up until he'd hit someone.

He realized he couldn't throw a punch from where he was, he was in an incredibly weak position; his fists either wouldn't reach the teacher or they would be really weak if they did land. There was really only one other thing he could do, so he did it.

If this had been a cage fight against an amateur opponent it would have been a risky, but genius move. In a school against a teacher who was also a retired huntsman it could have been nominated for a Darwin Award.

Bending the knee of the one leg he was still standing on, Cord tensed his muscles and jumped, quickly bringing his leg around in a high kick to Alford's other side. Other than a brief flash of surprised that flitted across the teachers face he remained unfazed. He allowed the kick to slam into the side of his broad chest, the only sign of it having any power being the slight ruffling of his rich brown hair. A small sheen of soft bronze light spread out from the impact-site, the man's aura protecting him from any damage the kick may have inflicted.

Quick as a whip, he snaked his arm around that leg as well, trapping both against his body and leaving the teenager without a leg to stand on, literally. With an undignified squawk, gravity took a hold of Cord's upper body and pulled it towards the ground, leaving him dangling upside down in Alford's grip, his coppery hair brushing the ground. Growling out in frustration, he attempted to perform a hanging sit-up to bring himself up to the big mans vulnerable head, but when his body was parallel with the ground, he was unceremoniously dropped like a sack of potatoes. Landing flat on his back with an audible '_oof', _he shakily gasped, trying to regain the breath that had been forcefully evicted from his lungs upon his graceless landing.

"You should lay off the red meat boy, you're heavier than a Beowulf," Alford stated as he shook his arms slightly, as if to loosen them. No-one bought it, they'd seen him lift the back end of car up before. Next to that, Cord may as well have been school backpack.

Alford grinnned down predatorily at the gasping delinquent. Attacking a teacher was a big no-no, big enough that no matter how the principal and the boys father tried to spin it, it would never stick. He had the boy by the short and curlies now.

...He probably shouldn't use that particular phrasing when referring to a student. People took things way too literally nowadays.

Hauling the boy up to his feet by his shirt collar and pointing him towards the direction of the principal's office, Alford turned his head to Jaune and frowned. The boy hadn't moved in the slightest since he'd arrived, lying still and silent, staring vacantly up at the ceiling. That couldn't be good. His sister was crouched next to him, worriedly poking his cheek and calling out his name.

"Arc, you alright?" he called to him.

No response.

"Kid?"

Not so much as a twitch. Alford was worried now.

"Jaune!"

Jaune perceived none of it. He hadn't seen Mr. Brunt step into their impromptu fighting ring, he hadn't noticed the extremely noticeable altercation between him and Cord, he was barely aware of Saffron's increasingly urgent prodding, and he didn't hear the concerned calling of his name.

He was too busy _freaking the fuck out. _

**Once all queued notifications have been read, the tutorial will commence.**

The words stared down at him from a floating blue screen in the air.

A floating blue screen.

_In the fucking air!_

This was _so_ not normal! Normal people didn't see things that couldn't be there, crazy people did! Jaune wasn't crazy, he couldn't be! He felt completely sane!

'_So would a crazy person,' _a part of his mind whispered.

'_Shut up you traitor,' _he snapped back. '_I'm not cra- wait, it's a trap. The voice in my head is trying to get me to talk to it, but I won't, because that's what crazy people do and I'm not crazy. Huh! Suck it dumbass,' _he crowed at the voice triumphantly.

Jaune suddenly felt incredibly stupid.

_'Gah! What's wrong with me?!' _he mentally cried, staring at the hallucination hovering above his head.

"-aune!" He suddenly heard loud and clear. Jolting slightly, he turned his head to where the he heard the voice. He saw Saffron on her knees beside him, concern showing clearly on her face. Looking past her he could see Mr. Brunt holding on to a wheezing Cord by the scruff of his neck, also looking quite worried.

Jaune blinked, _'What did I miss?'_

"Are you ok, Jaune?" asked his English teacher, Saffron looking like she'd also like to know the answer to that question.

Jaune looked back up to the floating box. It hadn't moved and was still there.

"That depends on whether you can see that or not," he said, pointing towards it.

Saffron looked upwards to where he was pointing. "If you're talking about the ceiling, and by Oum I hope you are, then yes we can see it."

_'That's not good,' _thought Jaune. "And, uh... if I'm not talking about the ceiling?" he asked out loud.

Saffron's face fell and Mr. Brunt groaned.

"Take him to the nurse and ask him to check for a concussion," he told her. "I'm going to take this orangutang to the principal," he said before frog marching said arboreal ape down the passage.

"Get to class!" he barked at the crowd of students in his way. They scrambled backwards and complied, dispersing to their first lessons for the day.

Saffron grabbed ahold of Jaune's arm and hauled him up. He stumbled as he did so and his hand passed through the window, causing it to ripple and fade into nothing. Jaune felt his hopes rise, before they came crashing down again as multiple windows popped into existence, all stacked in front of one another.

_'So my hallucinations are interactive,' _he thought despondently. _'What joy.' _

The siblings made their way to the front of the school were the nurses office was located, Saffron leading Jaune by the arm while he despairingly noted the fact that the windows were following him. Just as they came into view of their destination, Saffron stopped and turned to him, a soft look on her face.

"What you did back there wasn't the smartest thing ever," she said, pulling him into a gentle hug. "But you stood up for me when I needed you to and more importantly, you stood up for yourself, and I couldn't be prouder. I know how much courage that must have taken, so thank you. It's nice to know you have my back."

Jaune smiled and hugged her back, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Always Saf," he murmured.

For a few moments, brother and sister held each other, enjoying the warm and fuzzy feels that accompanied the action.

Then Saffron pulled away and grabbed his ear.

"Ow! Saf, what are you-"

"That being said, don't ever go and get yourself hurt again, you hear me? I was seriously worried about you jackass, I still am," she scolded, twisting his ear and causing him to yelp. "One more incident like this and I'll follow through with the threat I made on the rail, understand?" She growled out while dragging him towards the nurses office.

"Yes, yes I understand! Now for Oum's sake, let go of my ear!" Jaune exclaimed. It felt like she was going to pull it off. _'Why do all my sisters have to be so violent,' _he inwardly despaired.

With a huff, she released him, and instead used her hand to knock on the door. Jaune grumbled and rubbed his sore appendage, hearing shuffling coming from inside before the door opened. A middle-aged, dark-skinned man greeted them, wearing a doctor's smock over a light blue button-up shirt and black trousers. This was Mr. Parijeet, the school nurse.

"Hello Ms. Arc, what can I-" he cut himself off upon seeing the bruise that was already forming in the middle of Jaune's face. Considering it was the general shape and size of a fist, and the fact that he'd had numerous similar cases since working at Shion High, he quickly worked out what the problem was.

"Mr. Pike's handiwork I presume?" he asked wearily in slightly accented voice.

_'Probably Mistralian,' _Jaune wondered idly.

Saffron bobbed her head in confirmation. "Mr. Brunt sent us to make sure he doesn't have a concussion or something."

Mr. Parijeet nodded in understanding, before opening the door wider for them and gesturing for Jaune to sit on the tall, steel-frame bed that was pushed against the wall. His sister sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk.

As Jaune waited for the nurse to find whatever he was looking for in his desk, he was painfully aware of the windows hovering two feet in front of his chest, yet he tried to pretend they weren't there. He was of the sound opinion that if he ignored them they would go away; it had worked for that weird lag after all.

Unless this was the same thing. The windows had appeared the same time the lag had disappeared, maybe they were just a continuation of it?

Jaune's heart sunk a little lower.

Mr. Parijeet finally found what he had been looking for, a small torch, and turned back to Jaune.

"Before I check for a concussion, I want to check that you haven't injured your vertebrae. Hard enough hits to the head can sometimes result in harsh whiplash that can damage the spinal column, and we both know Mr. Pike packs quite a punch," he explained.

Jaune nodded. He did know; this wasn't the first time he'd been sent here after being hurt by Cord.

"Ok, I want you to turn your head to the left and right as far as possible and then do the same up and down. Tell me if you feel any pain," Mr. Parijeet instructed.

Jaune complied, noting as he did so that the windows didn't move with his head as it turned, even moving outside his vision when he was completely facing to the side, but when he turned back they were still there. He frowned. _'How do visual hallucinations continue existing outside of your vision?' _he couldn't help but wonder. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he didn't think hallucinations worked like that.

_'Let's see what Mr. Parijeet says after he's examined me, he'd know better than I would.'_

"Well your cervical vertebrae seem to be undamaged," diagnosed the nurse after Jaune reported an absence of pain. "Now I want you to do the same thing with your upper body. Turn it as far left and right as you can and then hunch down and straighten."

The windows did move this time, following his movements. They turned left when his body turned left, and right as he turned right. They also bobbed up and down as he hunched over and straightened.

_'They follow my center mass,' _Jaune realized. _'My hallucinations actually arrange themselves according to my physical body. That's... weirdly organized.'_

The little Jaune had heard about hallucinations, was that they normally happened to crazies, people under severe psychological pressure, and those suffering from a bad fever or dehydration. He'd heard that they were fuzzy and jumbled, like dreams, not structured and distinct.

He certainly didn't _feel _crazy, maybe slightly stressed, but not crazy. Mental disorders had never been a problem for his family and before today, he'd never had any reason to even think to worry about it. And school may be difficult, but he seriously doubted it counted as severe psychological pressure. And he certainly wasn't sick or dehydrated.

_'So either I spontaneously psycho'd out, these things are something else, or I have one hell of a concussion,' _Jaune contemplated as he finished the set of movements. _'Did Cord hit me that hard? I can hardly even feel the bruise.'_

**Ping**

It took all Jaune had not to jump out of his skin. The ring he had heard earlier sounded again, and he saw the small stack of windows in front of him become slightly thicker as another one appeared. Eyes wide, he looked to see if the other two occupants of the room had noticed. They hadn't seemed to. Saffron was studying a chart of the human body that hung on the wall, a bored expression on her face.

Mr. Parijeet had examined him with a critical eye as he went through the motions, and now spoke. "Your lumbar and thoracic vertebrae seem fine as well, I don't think you have to worry about any damage done there, but let's check your head; that's what you're here for isn't it?"

Switching on the small flashlight, he shined it into Jaune's eyes a few times, watching them carefully. Mr. Parijeet then moved it from side to side and asked the him to follow it with his eyes only.

After a few seconds of this, the nurse put away the flashlight and started asking questions. Did his head feel fuzzy? Was his vision blurry? What did he have for breakfast this morning? What was the color of his bedroom walls?

As he answered his questions, Jaune's eyes kept stealing furtive glances at the glowing, blue stack of screens, a small flame of curiosity igniting inside him. The shock and worry of suddenly seeing things that weren't there had mostly worn off, and now he had a slightly disturbing desire to find out what sort of illusions his damaged mind had created.

Mr. Parijeet asked a couple more questions testing Jaune's memories. Surprisingly, he'd managed to answer them quickly and accurately. Jaune frowned; his mind felt clearer and quicker, like his brain was making connections faster than it usually did.

He looked to the screens, feeling the small flame grow bigger and hotter. _'Does this have something to do with those?' _Weren't head injuries meant to cloud the mind? Since when did they clear it?

"Well," concluded Mr. Parijeet with a smile, "Your pupils are contracting properly and you're able to track moving objects just fine. You say you have a clear head and your memory seems to be in excellent form. You definitely don't have a concussion."

_'Then how do you explain those,' _he thought, glancing sharply at the floating screens. If they weren't the product of a concussion, then either they were real and only he could see them, or he was so crazy that the crazy actually felt normal. Could crazy people even contemplate if they were crazy?

He felt his curiosity grow larger. He wanted to reach out and touch the first box, if only to see what would happen.

"Are you sure sir?" Asked Saffron, slightly doubtful. She had been silent up until that point. "He said he was seeing things earlier."

Mr. Parijeet paused and looked at him sharply. "Is this true Mr. Arc?"

Jaune hesitated, knowing he had a decision to make. If he said yes, that he had seen things and was still seeing them, then he would be frantically rushed to the nearest hospital with an MRI scanner, which was likely miles away; Shion's hospital didn't have that sort of equipment. Then the visits to neurologists and psychiatrists would start, and if they couldn't figure out what was wrong he didn't know what would happen. They could lock him up in a padded cell for the rest of his days and study him or they could just let him live his life with what they would determine was an unexplained mental phenomenon.

Or he could say no, avoid the risk, and figure out what was going on. If he was crazy, he would figure it out himself.

"Not really, I think it was just the blow causing my eyes to go wonky. You know, like seeing stars? It faded away quite quickly," he tried to explain the situation away, hoping the nurse and his sister would buy it.

Saffron looked at him slightly suspiciously, but seemed to believe him, as well as Mr. Parijeet.

"Well in that case, you can put some ice on that bruise and wait here for a few minutes. After that you're free to go," the man told him. "You, on the other hand, should get to class Ms. Arc. I'll write a note for your teacher explaining your absence."

Saffron seemed reluctant to leave, though whether this was out of lingering concern for her brother or simply because she didn't want to go to class was unclear. After she was gone, Mr. Parijeet sat at his desk and began doing some paper work while Jaune remained on the bed, an ice pack pressed against his face.

He really wanted examine whatever these screens were, the curiosity was damn near killing him. He had thought they were hallucinations before and hadn't bothered with them, but know that he knew they could be something else...

Making sure the nurse was occupied with whatever he was busy with, Jaune reached out to the stack of blue floating windows. As soon as he touched the one at the forefront of the collection, they suddenly enlarged from the size they were currently at - which was similar to a playing card - to the size of a dinner tray, with text appearing on the surface of the previously blank window at the top of the stack. In the upper right corner was what appeared to be time stamp.

_'It almost looks like a text message,' _Jaune mused as he read what it said.

**For using the knowledge you possess to come to a logical conclusion, you gained 1 INT and WIS. **

Jaune stared at the window for a while, trying to make sense of it. The time stamp in the corner showed it was only a few minutes old. It must have been the one that popped up during Mr. Parijeet's examination.

_'What the hell are WIS and INT?' _thought Jaune, puzzled. The first thing he thought off when he saw WIS was that it looked like some weird abbreviation of wisdom, or maybe cheese whiz... it was probably wisdom.

_'If that is the case, then INT probably stands for intelligence,' _he realized. _'It would make sense, they're quite similar concepts, and these things look like shortened versions of the actual words.'_

He could be wrong of course, but if he wasn't... _'Is this thing telling me I got smarter?'_

**Ping **

**For puzzling out a question through deductive reasoning, you gain 1 WIS.**

Jaune blinked. He wasn't sure whether that was on purpose or just a coincidence, but it was as good a confirmation as any. It _was _telling him he had gotten smarter.

But what did it mean? It said he was smarter, but was he really? He didn't feel any different. If he had gotten smarter like the window said, then _how _had he gotten smarter; did it just magically make him more intelligent? If this was real, then _why _was it happening to him? Before today, he'd been normal; what had changed?

Too many questions, not enough answers. Jaune remembered what the first window had said, that once all the notifications had been read, a tutorial would start.

_'Is that what these are? Notifications?'_

Notifications from what? Tutorial to what?

Shaking his head and pushing these questions to the back of his mind, Jaune reached for the next 'notification'. The only way to get answers would be to go through the entire stack.

On a hunch, Jaune placed his finger on top of the first notification and swiped to the side. It moved with the motion and disappeared, revealing the next one to be read. It was just like the tabs he could open on his scroll.

Jaune quickly checked that Mr. Parijeet was still busy with his paperwork, it would be difficult to explain why he was randomly poking and swiping at the air. He was obviously the only one that saw the notifications.

The dark haired man was seemingly engrossed in his work, hunched forward and frowning, his pen racing over the paper so fast he was surprised it didn't catch on fire.

Whatever required such concentration, Jaune was glad for it. The man looked like he wouldn't have noticed if Jaune had stripped naked and done the worm on the floor, he probably didn't need to be worried about being caught groping the air.

Please ignore the slightly sexual undertone of that statement, he can't be blamed; he's flooded with more hormones than a factory-farmed chicken.

Turning back to the notifications, he read the one just recently revealed.

**Due to surviving a fight against a superior opponent, you gain 1 VIT and 2 DEX. **

Jaune frowned at this one, he must have gotten it during the fight with Cord. Nothing immediately came to mind when looking at the two strange words. If they were like WIS and INT, then they had to be abbreviations for something, but he didn't know what.

He sat there for a minute or two, trying to figure it out.

_'Hmm... VIT...VIT...VIT...vite? Invite? Invitation... wedding! Church! Ceremony, food, cake... mhmm yeah, cake.'_

The mind of a teenage boy everyone. Those hormones are no joke.

After regaining focus, he went back to trying to divine the true meaning of the words. He tried using the same method of random thought hopping to try and figure out what DEX could mean.

He ended up at 'sex' in just one short jump.

...Seriously, this is accurate shit people. Testosterone wreaks havoc on a persons mind and body.

Jaune sighed before giving up and moving to the next one. He was sure he'd figure it out later.

**You have gained 1 VIT.**

_'Oh come on!' _Thought a frustrated Jaune, glaring at the newly revealed screen. Looking at the time stamp on this one he saw it was from early this morning, before he'd left for school. There was a lot that had happened that morning, what part of it had caused him to gain 1 of whatever VIT was?

Jaune moved onto the next one, this one having appeared within the same minute of him gaining the VIT point.

**Through an uncharacteristically graceful movement, you have gained 1 DEX. **

Realization struck Jaune like a lightning bolt. _'That weird twirl I did this morning, that's how I got the DEX point! I was jumping around quite a lot in that fight too. There's a word for that, I know there is. It's not agile, but it means the same thing... DEX... dexterity! DEX must stand for dexterity!'_

Jaune was excited now, his success of figuring out what another one of those words meant invoking feelings of accomplishment and pride within him. It was a small victory really, he still had no clue what all of this meant; still had more questions.

But he was making progress on good time.

_'Then the 1 VIT I gained, was that from hitting my head when I fell this morning? I also gained one during the fight, where I again got hit in the head. I get them by knocking my noggin then?_

Jaune frowned, that didn't seem quite right. DEX, INT and WIS all turned out to be attributes or characteristics of some sort. The only characteristic he would associate with repeatedly receiving head injuries was idiocy.

Jaune liked to think he wasn't an idiot, thank you very much.

Seeing there was only one more screen left, Jaune swiped the one he had just read into non-existence, revealing the one behind it. This one had appeared at 2:00 in the morning according to the time stamp, and turned out to be a little different from the others.

**Skill 'Gamer's body' successfully loaded. Beginning upload of skill 'Gamer's mind'.**

The second window that had popped up after the fight with Cord had also mentioned something about a skill called Gamer's mind, though it came up as something resembling an error message, like the ones he got when a virus had infected his old laptop.

Just as he was about to swipe the last one away and get to whatever this tutorial was about, Mr. Parijeet, who had paused in his writing, looked at his watch and stood up.

"Okay," He said as he walked over to Jaune, who managed to pass his intended swipe off as bringing his arm up to scratch his chin. "It's been about ten minutes since you've put the ice on, the bruising should have faded a bit."

He motioned for Jaune to lower the ice pack from his face, which he did. He didn't miss the look of surprise and confusion that crossed the nurses features as he did so. _'Is something wrong?' _He thought, a brief spike of alarm shooting through him.

"What in the world?" The nurse muttered, a confused frown etching itself onto his face.

"Is something wrong?" Jaune asked, slightly worried.

"Well there's nothing wrong per se," the nurse said while lifting a hand towards his face, "It's just that the bruise has completely healed." He poked the spot on Jaune's forehead where he'd been hit. The tender ache he expected to feel didn't come. It felt normal.

"Can I see?" Jaune asked, slightly disbelieving.

Mr. Parijeet picked up a small hand mirror from one of the shelves lining the walls and handed it to him. Jaune looked at it, only to see his smooth, unmarred skin in the reflection. His cerulean blue eyes scanned his face, looking for the ugly purple mark that had stained it just below the line of his golden hair/mop not ten minutes ago.

It wasn't there. It looked as if it never had been. How could it just be gone?

Evidently, Mr Parijeet was wondering the same thing. "That's _weird_," He said, perplexed. "You walked in here with a bruise uglier than my sister's face and it disappears a few minutes later. Ice isn't supposed to have that sort of healing power."

Jaune was a little nonplussed about the man's comment about his sister. That bruise had looked pretty damn nasty when he had last seen it; all mauve and swollen.

"You're sister couldn't be that ugly, could she?"

Mr. Parijeet whipped out his scroll from the pocket of his smock and showed the screen to Jaune, his face grave.

It took all Jaune had not to flinch.

He looked from the device to the nurses stony visage, and then back again, trying to think of something polite to say. Nothing came to mind.

"She's... uh..."

"Uglier than a brick shit-house, I know," the man sighed before putting his scroll away. "She's my sister though, and the nicest person you will ever meet. Though of course, men aren't usually looking at a women's personality when they meet them for the first time. When our parents started putting pressure on her to get married and she couldn't find anyone, they had a bit of falling out. They haven't been on good terms since," he sighed, seemingly not aware of the fact that he had abruptly begun discussing a lot of very personal details with a student out of the blue.

Not that Jaune minded, there was something that Mr. Parijeet had said that had stoked his curiosity. "Why did they want her to get married so badly?" He asked. "My mom wants my sister to move out of the house and they've argued about it, but she hasn't estranged her."

"It's an old Mistralian custom," the nurse replied absently, sitting down in his desk chair. "It's something that has mostly fallen out of practice, but my parents still abide by it. Mistral used to be a very patriarchal society you see, and men were considered superior to women in nearly every way. While they went out and got an education and jobs and money, the women and girls were expected to stay at home, clean the house, look after the children, teach their daughters how to behave and how to be good wives for their future husbands, that sort of thing."

Jaune leaned forward, interested in hearing more about about this odd culture from a foreign country.

"In those times you were blessed if you had a son, it meant that they would acquire a dowry from their brides family upon marriage. Conversely, having a daughter meant you had to pay a dowry upon marriage, so having a daughter was sometimes seen as a bit of a burden. Even back then, Mistral was a very business orientated country. Since women weren't allowed to work and earn an income, families would try and marry their daughters off as quickly as possible so they wouldn't have to pay for their food, clothing, supplies, etc. anymore."

"Some girls were married as young as eleven years old to men twice, or even thrice, their age. Once they were gone and their dowries paid, they family could focus on earning more of a profit, having one less expense to take care of," he explained to the boy in front of him, who had grown increasingly bewildered and disgusted as the man spoke.

"That's terrible! They're their family, their own children, not... _products _to be sold off!" Jaune was flabbergasted. How could anyone just sell their own child away as if they were an unwanted piece of furniture?

"The female hunters in a delegation from Vacuo thought much the same thing when they went there as part of an international relations program," said Mr. Parijeet with a wry grin. "Their culture was very much a 'survival of the fittest' one, gender was non-factor to them."

"So when they went there and saw women who covered their faces and bodies in swathes of cloth for fear of being labeled unfaithful or promiscuous; fathers selling their fifteen year old daughters to men in their thirties; women stoned to death for not throwing themselves onto their husband's funeral pyres as was custom, they raised hell. Any man who tried to tell them how to act was severely beaten, and there were many of them. The same happened to any who they found out had layed a hand on a woman in a violent or unwanted manner within their vicinity."

"By the time the program ended, they had sent nearly six hundred men to hospitals, and had inspired the women of every village they went through to stand up for themselves. The 'Women's Rights' movement spread across the country and before long, laws were passed that banned any sort of gender discrimination. There are still a few people like my parents, but they are few and far between. The culture that had previously oppressed women is now one that allows anyone, regardless of gender to flourish."

"Just not the faunus," Jaune pointed out. Of all the kingdoms, Mistral was the biggest discriminator against the species; the only other that could really compete was Atlas, and that was mostly because of the Schnee Corporation.

Mr. Parijeet sighed. "Yes, just not the faunus."

He suddenly seemed to realize that he'd just had a lengthy discussion about personal matters with a student, and looked slightly sheepish for it. While it wasn't against any rules or policies, some of the faculty may have frowned upon it.

"But that's an entirely different can of worms, and you need to get to class. Here's a note, in case your teacher gives you grief," he said, handing Jaune a slip of paper. "You can go now."

Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, Jaune nodded and got up. He walked over to the door and opened it, about to walk through, before pausing and turning back to Mr. Parijeet.

"Sir," the nurse turned to look at him. "Did your sister ever get married?"

The man looked surprised, before nodding. "A wealthy, handsome merchant fell in love with her, they married, and now have three kids."

Even though he had asked, Jaune couldn't help but be surprised by the answer. _'The man must be a saint to ignore that face. Either that or she must have one hell of a personality." _Seriously, that woman was ugly.

Mr. Parijeet seemed to sense the direction in which his thoughts lay. "He was also blind," he admitted_, _a small grin on his face.

_'Ahh,' _Jaune nodded in understanding. _'That explains it.'_

**\- Line Break -**

Walking down the hall to his next class, which was biology, Jaune swiped the last notification away. The second he did, it disappeared and a new one took its place.

**All notifications have been read and dismissed. The tutorial for the Gamer's Reality will now commence.**

The Gamer's Reality? Jaune was confused. Was that what all this was? He swiped the screen away and a new one popped up.

**Welcome to the tutorial for your new life. As you may have noticed, your reality has been irreversibly altered to that of a video game character. This powerful ability has been granted to you by ? in order for you to fulfill your destiny. Please use a mental or verbal command of 'menu' to commence.**

Jaune stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at the words on the screen, not quite processing them. All the doubts that had begun to fade from his mind now came back with the force of sledgehammer. He'd started to believe that he hadn't been going crazy, that this really had been something real and special.

But his life becoming a _video game? _That was just too unreal, too bizarre. He didn't know what he'd been expecting but his was as far from it as possible.

_'This can't be real. What 'menu' are they talking about?' _Jaune thought blankly.

No sooner had the thought passed through his mind than another screen popped up, this one vastly different than the notifications before it. Where the others had been a solid blue, this one only had a blue border, the rest of it, besides the text of course, was white. Along the top of the screen was what looked like a number of tabs, each with different words on them. The first one was currently highlighted and had the word 'Stats' written across it.

Jaune didn't pay attention to the rest, he was to busy trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15**

**Title: NA**

**Class/es: NA**

**Level: 1 ( 0/400 EXP )**

**Health: 600/600 ( 1%/min )**

**Mana: 400/400 ( 1%/min )**

**Aura: NA**

**Stats:**

**STR - 5**

**VIT - 8**

**DEX - 6**

**INT - 10**

**WIS - 11**

**LUK - 5**

**Points - 0**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune's greatest desire is to be a huntsman, and continues to yearn for his dream despite his fathers unsupportive nature and his own woefully inadequate skills. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**As of this moment, he is wondering if he is crazy. He isn't.**

_'Well of course you'd tell me I'm not crazy, you're part of the craziness!' _Jaune mentally shouted when he saw the last line of text. The stress and shock of what was happening was getting to him, causing him to be anxious and frustrated. The comment about his skills sucking wasn't helping his mood in the slightest either. He knew what the screen was, he'd played video games before and recognized a character's status page when he saw one. Except this was _his _status page. He had a _status page_.

**Ping**

"What the fuck do you want now?" He growled out loud. A new notification had popped up to the side of the stat page, with various arrows pointing to the different components and a brief explanation next to them.

**This is your status page, where you can view your progress, equip your titles and edit your stats.**

**Titles are earned by completing noteworthy achievements, and often give bonuses towards certain skills or stats. You currently have no titles and only one title slot. You receive more title slots as you level up.**

**Your class is basically your type of playstyle, and is based on different types of combatants throughout history, whether they be conventional or otherwise. You will be able to pick your class once you have reached level 5.**

***Note- You're class does not determine your playstyle for the entirety of your life, merely your starting skills and what weapons you have access to. Each class comes with its own story mission; once you complete this story mission, you will be able to pick a new class on top of your old one.**

**Your level is a good indicator of your progress and strength compared to others. You gain levels by acquiring the necessary amount of EXP indicated next to your level. Each level up increases your Health, Mana, Aura and gives you 5 stat points.**

**This is your Health, or HP. This indicates your physical condition and how close to death you are. The closer the number is to zero, the closer you are to death. If it is full, you are in peak physical health. The regeneration rate is located next to it. If it reaches zero, you will die.**

**Mana is magic. Very few humans or faunus have it, and even fewer know how to use it. Mana is needed to cast spells and execute skills. If you reach zero mana, you will suffer a regeneration penalty.**

**Aura is the manifestation of your soul into a physical force, enhancing your physical and mental attributes slightly, providing minor healing capabilities, and surrounding your body in ethereal armour. Once you unlock your semblance, aura points will also be consumed in a similar manner to mana to use it, along with other aura specific skills.**

**Your Stats are your attributes given numerical values. Some skills or items require you to meet certain stat requirements before being able to use them. You can either raise your stats using stat points or by training in an area related to that specific stat.**

**STR - This is your strength. You'd have to have a really low INT score to not understand how this works. The higher the number next to it, the stronger you are. **

**VIT - This is your vitality **_( 'That's the bitch!' _thought Jaune accusingly_)_**_._ This indicates your tolerance towards receiving damage, resisting poisons, your stamina and your health regeneration rate.**

**DEX - This is your dexterity. This is a measure of your acrobatic ability, hand-eye co-ordination, speed and general skill with ranged weaponry.**

**INT - As you have already figured out, this is intelligence, your ability to memorize and recall facts and information. It also determines your mana regeneration rate. Used in conjunction with your WIS, a high INT score is invaluable.**

**WIS - ****As you have already figured out, this is your wisdom, your ability to reason, strategize and use logic and your intelligence to form plans. Used in conjunction with your INT, a high WIS score is invaluable. **

**LUK - Your luck. This stat determines the rarity of loot dropped by enemies, and turns the universal odds in your favor. Get this stat high enough, and a single thoughtless action from you could destroy armies.**

**These are stat points. You gain 5 every level and you may be given them as rewards for completing missions or achievements. You use them to increase your stats as opposed to training. **

Jaune was no stranger to video games. He'd played a lot of them, specifically RPG's, so he knew what most of this stuff meant already, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that this was _insane. _Too good to be true. Jaune was back to doubting his sanity, wondering if all _this _was real or just a figment of his psycho imagination.

_'Oum I hope it isn't.__'_

**Ping**

**Please proceed to the next page.**

One of the tabs at the top of the screen was slowly flashing blue and white, the words on it reading 'Inventory'. Looking at the others, Jaune saw that, in order, there was also: 'Quests', 'Achievements', 'Map', 'Skills' and 'Options'.

He eyed the tab warily, wondering whether or not he should indulge his insanity. After a few moments of consideration he slowly reached out to press it. Insane or otherwise, this was happening to him, so he might as well deal with it. The only way he could really do that was to play along, it seemed a much better alternative to fighting it.

When he touched the tab, it bacame highlighted while 'Stats' bacame greyed out. The screen switched to what seemed to be a grid; a black background with white horizontal and vertical lines drawn across it, forming little squares. There was a small, seperate space at the bottom that had something written there.

**Money: 0 Lien**

**Ping**

Another notification popped up beside the screen, this one much shorter than the previous one, and only having a single arrow pointing towards the grid.

**This is your inventory. You can use it too store as many items as you like, there will always be space. To enlarge one of the squares, simply pinch two opposing corners and pull. To insert an item, simply push it against the window. To retrieve it, reach into the square it is stored in and pull it out.**

_'A fucking bag of holding. Oh sweet Oum, this is cruel of you, my damaged inner phsyce; you can't dangle a bag of fucking holding in front of my nose!' _Jaune lamented. He could literally hide anything in there. Cash, food, assorted magazines that were currently laying under his mattress... he really needed to find a better place to hide those.

_And this screen was that place!_

_'If it were real,' _the inner sceptic in him said. Yes, the doubt about its authenticity still ran strong, though this time there was a way to test it. Quickly searching his pockets for something to try and store in the inventory, he found a single white Lien card in his back pocket.

Shrugging, he reached forward to push it against the screen. It wasn't a lot of money, so if it got nommed by this 'inventory' it wouldn't be a great loss.

As the the card touched the screen, he felt a slight resistance. When he tried to push it past that point it was like he was trying to push it through jello. The surface of the window rippled as the card moved forward; not through, but _into _the inventory. Once it was all the way in, he saw that, while none of the boxes had been occupied, the counter at the bottom of the screen had ticked up by one.

**Money: 1 Lien**

The majority of his doubts disappeared, then and there. Reaching out to the bottom of the screen, his hand went into it and he was suddenly holding the white card.

_'Holy shit, this might be real!'_

Scrambling for his scroll, Jaune pushed it into the inventory as well. Now that he knew he could actually retrieve the items he put in there, he wanted to try storing an actual object. The device disappeared the same way the lien card had, but instead of the currency counter at the bottom ticking up, the top left box on the screen now contained the image of his scroll. Reaching out with hands trembling in excitement, he pushed his hand into the box that contained it, grabbed the object he felt inside, and pulled it out. It was his scroll.

Jaune was partly in shock and partly ecstatic, with just a dash of lingering doubt._ He had a bag of_ _fucking holding! _This alone was phenomenal - the possibilities! And if this was real, that must mean that the rest of it was real as well!

And if all this was real, his life would never be the same. He could use this to improve himself, to become the best huntsman ever! With the click of a button, he could use stat points to make himself stronger, or faster, or smarter. His inventory was incredible, he could store anything, _everything, _in there. And just looking at the other tabs, he could tell that there was a whole lot more he had access too.

If it was real.

Jaune wanted so badly to believe that that was the case, and for the most part he did; but there was just this tiny, lingering voice whose name was realism that was letting out a death cry, warning him to be cautious. He could have imagined the card and his scroll disappearing into thin air of course.

As ridiculous as Jaune knew that was, the small voice in the back of his head persisted.

It was promptly shut inside a dark corner of his psyche and told to stick a cork in it.

Jaune eagerly moved onto the next tab, which had begun flashing after he'd dismissed the notification.

"Jaune?"

Hearing his name called from behind him, Jaune quickly snapped his hand back down to his side and turned around. A few feet behind him was a doorway, the person who had called out to him standing in it.

"Where are you going? I do have you for this period, don't I?" asked Ms. Clemen, a small frown crossing her beautiful heart shaped face. "You better not be trying to skip out, mister." She tapped the palm of her hand threateningly with her ever-present, three-foot wooden ruler.

Jaune blinked, registering where he was for the first time. He'd been walking the entire time he'd been following the tutorial, his feet subconsciously taking him to where he needed to be, which was his biology class. He'd almost walked right past it.

Taking in the stern figure of his gorgeous teacher, he shuddered. Hip jutted out to the side, plain white blouse tucked into a barely regulation pencilskirt and piercing bright sapphires fixing him to the spot from behind glasses with frames as dark as her hair, she cut an incredibly imposing figure.

And a sexy one, but he'd be dead if that thought was ever voiced. Beautiful she may be, but she was known for having a sadistic streak a mile wide.

"Er...no Ms. Clemen, just... lost in thought. I didn't realize I'd walked past your class," Jaune slightly stammered.

"Mm hmm." She hummed in the back of her throat, still frowning. "Well I hope you manage to pay more attention in my class. Which you will get into. Right now."

As each sentence got shorter, the tapping of the ruler on her palm grew sharper, more threatening.

Jaune nodded and scurried through the doorway, slightly pale. Why were all the women in his life so scary? Upon entering the classroom in a manner reminiscent of a dog with its tail between its legs, every face in the room turned to him and stared, some of the looks appraising, some impressed.

_'What's that about?'_ Jaune recognized a few that had been part of the crowd surrounding him and Cord less than an hour ago. Had word already gotten around about that?

He snorted. This was highschool, of course everyone knew about it.

Ignoring the looks, he scampered to his regular seat in the middle of the classroom. He'd been surprised when he'd first walked into the class at the beginning of the year to see that it mostly consisted of guys. He hadn't pegged biology to be such a popular elective among the male students, so he had been understandably confused by the amount of testosterone contained in the class; there was literally a single girl.

His confusion had quickly left him when their teacher had walked in for the first time and his classmates had collectively started drooling. Jaune could appreciate the female figure as much as the next guy, but watching thirty-odd hormonal teenage boys make fools out of themselves every time Ms. Clemen entered the room made him want to bang his head against his desk.

Like right now. As the woman walked back inside and started lecturing again, talking about something called Kreb's cycle and phosphorylation, his classmates immediately started ignoring him and started paying attention to the lecture, eyes glued to the front of the room, focused like hawks, yet not hearing a word. One guy in particular, Cory, who sat near the front of the class twirling his ruler between his fingers, was all but leering at her. His eyes would glue themselves to Ms. Clemen's rear anytime she turned around.

Any other day, Jaune would have rolled his eyes in disgust and exasperation and either listened to the lesson or spaced out, but right now he couldn't care less, he wanted to get through this tutorial, or whatever else it may be.

As discretely as possible, he lifted his hand to tap the slowly flashing tab marked 'Quests'. He needn't have bothered with the attempt at stealth, a Goliath could have stampeded through the halls outside and his classmates - except for the girl, who looked as exasperated as he usually felt - would not have noticed, so ingrossed were they with mentally undressing their teacher.

This screen was blank for the most part. There were only five words in the center of the page.

**You currently have no quests.**

As soon as the words had been read, the now usual notification popped up to the left of the screen, explaining the function of the page.

**This page displays all of your ongoing and incomplete quests and their descriptions. Quests are missions or objectives that you can complete in exchange for rewards, such as EXP, equipment and skills. **

**Here is your first quest.**

The screen suddenly changed. It was no longer blank, at the top of it was now a heading.

**The First Step**

That was it. Jaune was slightly confused, surely a quest descrption would contain more details? Was he meant to press it or something?

Doing just that, the space below the quest title dropped down to reveal text. _'Aha,' _thought Jaune.

**The First Step**

**Objectives: Complete the tutorial.**

**Completion Rewards: 100 EXP**

**Failure: It's the tutorial, you literally cannot fail.**

Jaune scoffed at the failure penalty. This was a basically a EXP handout.

_'You mean extra crazy points,' _said the apparently now un-corked part of his mind, making a reappearance in an attempt to convince him of his insanity. Jaune was having none of it.

_'I thought I told you to piss off, rational thought,' _he mentally exclaimed, booting that small voice back into the dark recesses of his subconscious where it would only be able to manifest as a tiny amount of persisting doubt that the screens weren't actually hallucinations.

Jaune paused, realizing that the mental conflict he'd just experienced was quite absurd. Maybe he was a little crazy. At the very least, weirdly eccentric.

Well it hardly mattered now. He had been rolling with it so far and he'd keep on rolling, not letting a little thing such as his questionable sanity stop him.

Moving on to the next tab, 'Achievments', he was greeted by a page full of question marks.

**?**

**???**

**?**

**???**

**?**

**???**

It went on like that for quite a while, only stopping when Jaune could no longer scroll down. Looking towards the left of the page, he frowned slightly. Where was the-

**Ping**

There it was!

**This is your Achievements page. You receive achievements by completing special actions, using creative or unique methods to achieve victory, defeating a certain number of enemies, and numerous other things. Achievements, like quests, give you rewards upon completion. These rewards can range from EXP, to titles, to Lien, to equipment, etc. **

**As you can see, you will not know what these achievements involve until you actually achieve them. Some have different tiers of achievement; the higher the tier, the greater the reward.**

**So remember, if you're going to do something, do it well. You might just get something good out of it. **

Jaune raised his eyebrows at this. Normally achievements didn't give out actual rewards, they were mostly just for show. He wondered why it was different here; a game character would get most of their gear and loot from quests and enemy drops, and that was usually enough, so having another reward system was kind of weird.

...Unless it gave out unique rewards, things he couldn't get by any other means. If that was the case, then he _had_ to have them, they could only help him once he was a huntsman. Everything he did from now on would have to be done in the best possible way, he didn't know what he had to do to gain achievements. For all he knew he could get one for washing the dishes. So he had to do everything he did from now on as best as he possibly coul-

Jaune stopped dead, a metaphorical light bulb sparking to life above his head. He looked back at the achievements page, now having an idea as to what it's actual purpose was.

In normal games, the main function of quests was to move the story line along, while side quests provided rewards that ensured that the player could keep up with the main story line and all the enemies they would face. It didn't really matter how you achieved the objectives, just that you _did _achieve them.

But this wasn't a game. This was his _life. _His life that wasn't limited to just failure or success like it was in a regular game. He could do _badly_ in it, but still succeed, and there weren't any check points or saved games he could use to try a rerun. If he messed up, there was no going back to fix things, it would stay that way.

The quests this thing gave him would probably be things for him to work towards, things to he had to do to unlock more quests, encouraging him to move forward with the storyline that, he guessed, was now his life.

But this achievements page, it was encouraging him to _excel _at the story line, to do things that weren't exactly quest-necessary in the best way that he could do them; to improve himself in the smaller, less noticeable ways. This thing was encouraging him to _excel _at his life. Just the thought of unique rewards had motivated him to do his best to get them. Even now he felt the urge to start becoming better in order to receive them.

Or at least that was what he thought it was, it could just be an extra reward system.

**Ping**

**For contemplating the subtleties of your new reality and coming to a logical conclusion, take 1 WIS.**

Jaune stared at the notification. Was the Game telling him he was correct? He wasn't sure, but hey, he'd gotten a stat point out of it, so it seems he was doing something right.

He took one last look at the achievements page, at all the question marks covering its surface.

It irritated him.

Whenever he'd played games in the past, he'd never been one to rush through them. When he'd first started playing, he had found that he was very much a perfectionist. He would take forever to get back to whatever the main quest line was because he was too busy gathering herbs for the local farmer's daughter or scouring the edges of the map for hidden loot. His fear of missing out on something fantastic was just to great to allow him to not put in the extra effort.

Every skill, every hidden chest, every quest, he would find them all. He had wanted to milk whatever game he was playing at the time for all it was worth.

He hadn't played anything in a long while, but now, sitting in front of a screen that only he could see, staring at all those question marks, that same drive filled him once again. He wanted those rewards. If that meant he had to do everything he did from now on to perfection, then so be it. It could only help him on his path to becoming a huntsman.

Even though he didn't realize it, for the first time ever, Jaune had taken a big step on the path to his dream.

Determination still burning within him, he moved onto the next page, the 'Map'. It was indeed a map, just not a very detailed one. It contained the shape of each continent and land mass on Remnant, and looked nearly identical to a regular map; except this one was monochromatic and had no details, no markings, nothing. It was literally just an outline of a regular map.

**Ping**

**This is your map of the known world. As you travel and explore Remnant, it will become more detailed and mark points of interest and locations as you discover them. **

**You can determine your location by looking for your marker. **

A small, blue triangle suddenly appeared near the middle of the outline that made up Sanus. Jaune guessed that represented him on the map.

**You can zoom in and out on the map by spreading your fingers apart or pinching them together on the screen. **

_'Like a scroll,' _thought Jaune as he zoomed in on the little triangle on the screen. As he did so, he saw a small area around it grow and become more detailed to farther he zoomed in. He could make out foliage and buildings and the rail track between Nordain and Shion, both of which were marked with their names. This small area of the map also contained color, consisting of muted browns, greens and grays that added texture to it, before it started fading back to stark white at the edge of the detailed portion.

_'This must be the area of the world that I've been to,' _he realized. Looking closely he could see other, smaller patches of color in areas that his family had camped at before.

Zooming back out, Jaune saw how small the part of the world he knew was compared to the rest of it. When fully zoomed out you had to squint to tell it was even there. He felt overwhelmed at seeing how much of Remnant he didn't know yet; in his entire fifteen years of life, he had never been outside of those two square millimeters in the middle of a single continent on the map, save for a few camping trips to places that covered even less area.

His mind went back to the conversation he'd had with Mr. Parijeet. What the man had described to him had been a short, third hand account of a abandoned culture that had since died out. And it had been the most interesting conversation Jaune had had all month. Looking at this map, he realized that there was an entire world full of places, cultures and people like that that he didn't know about. A sudden sense of wonder and what he could only describe as the urge to explore hit him.

_'Maybe I can travel a bit in the future when I'm off duty,' _Jaune smiled at the thought. _'That would be nice I think.'_

He had certainly enjoyed camping, this would be just like that, only on a much bigger scale, and with more activities and experiences, hopefully.

With a new feeling of wanderlust, Jaune moved onto the second last page, the one that excited him most: 'Skills'.

The excitement turned to disappointment when he saw he only had two.

**Gamer's Body Lv. MAX**

**You now have a body similar to that of a video game character. Your physical and mental attributes have been converted into stats with numerical values, which can be increased through training or assigning stat points. Your physical well-being is now represented by the amount of health you have. **

**Gamer's Mind Lv. MAX**

**Your mind has been suited to enable the Gamer's Reality. Allows the user to process thoughts calmly and quickly. Gamer's Mind makes the user immune to all mind magic and mind manipulating semblances. **

Admittedly, Gamer's Mind looked like a pretty cool skill to have, but it was just that and Gamer's Body- which looked like all it did was enable some major parts of the game, like the stat page.

He was disappointed and a little indignant. Surely he had more skills than just these two, right? He wasn't _that _useless.

**Ping**

**The Skill page is where you can view all of the skills you currently possess and your mastery over them. A skill becomes stronger and more efficient the more you use it, gaining levels much like you yourself do. Some skills have a level at which they cannot progress past. Once at this stage, the skill could either stay at its maximum level or evolve into a new skill. Skills cost either mana, aura or some combination of the two to work. **

**Skills can be gained through skill books or repeated actions.**

At the top of this page were two other headings, 'Perks' and 'Disadvantages'. Clicking on 'Perks', the screen showed a blank face. He didn't have any perks.

**Ping**

**Perks are like skills in the sense that they grant the user some form of ability or power. Unlike skills, however, perks cannot be leveled and stay as they are, no matter how much you use it. Perks can be gained from achievements or by completing special actions.**

The 'Disadvantages' section was equally blank. According to the notification that popped up, they were the opposite of perks, giving negative, harmful or unwanted status effects to the user, i.e Jaune. The notification also informed him that disadvantages would remain until the necessary removal requirements were met.

Jaune was a little miffed, he knew he had more skills than this. At the very least he should have a dancing skill, Oum knows he had put in the hours and he was damn good at it.

**Ping **

**Quest Alert!**

**Learning the Trade**

**Objectives: Create your first skill.**

**Completion rewards: New skill, 50 EXP**

**Failure penalties: You remain unskilled**

**Accept Y/N**

Jaune was surprised. He had received a quest out of nowhere from seemingly no-one. It was related to skill development though, and he had just been grumbling about his lack of skills. Had he created this quest out of his desire for more skills?

Accepting the quest, Jaune thought about this new possibility. Usually quests had to be given out by NPC's, or in his case other people, but if he could just create them on the fly it would be a huge advantage.

_'One day I want to be rich and be in a polygamous relationship with at least ten beautiful women who love me, none of whom have a cup size smaller than a double D,' _Jaune thought up the most ridiculous goal he could imagine.

**Ping**

_'No way,' _thought Jaune in disbelief.

**Barney Stinson Ain't Got Nothing on Me**

**Objectives: Obtain at least eight million Lien and get ten women who have a bust size of 34 inches or larger to fall in love with you.**

**Completion Awards: 50 000 EXP, 2 million Lien and New title**

**Failure penalties: You'll be a poor lonely schmuck for the rest of your life. **

**Accept Y/N**

Jaune reached out and tapped the 'No' button, he wasn't dumb enough to believe he'd actually accomplish all of that, even if the rewards for the quest sorely tempted him. That wasn't the important thing at the moment though - he could create quests just by having a goal in mind! That was so awesome!

This would be really convenient; instead of going and searching for people who could give him quests, he could just create them for himself if he ever needed one.

**Ping**

**For discovering the mechanics of the game, you gain 1 INT.**

And he'd gotten a stat point out of it! Score!

Jaune eagerly went back to the quest page to look at the quest he had just accepted.

**Learning the Trade**

**Objectives: Create your first skill.**

**Completion rewards: New skill, 50 EXP**

**Failure penalties: You remain unskilled**

**Accept Y/N**

Ok, so all he had to do was create a skill, that seemed easy enough. He remembered what the notification for the 'Skills' page had said, he could gain a skill by using a skill book or through repeated actions. Since he didn't see anything that looked like it constituted as a skill book lying around, Jaune guessed he'd have to use the latter method.

He frowned in thought. What exactly could he do? What even constituted as a skill in the first place? Jaune caught sight of his stationery that he'd pulled from his bag when he'd first entered the class, specifically his ruler and his eraser.

He'd once seen a guy flick his erasure with pin-point accuracy at a fly that was in the class once using a ruler. The rubber projectile had hit the insect right out of the air, and he'd acted like it was nothing while those you had seen the feat gawked at him.

That must have taken some skill right? Maybe he could try the same thing. Course of action decided, Jaune began scanning the class for a suitable target, his eyes eventually landing on Cory. The slimy little weasel was still idly twirling the twelve inch piece of plastic between his fingers, while his eyes stayed glued to Ms. Clemens ass. Jaune grinned a malicious grin.

_'Perfect.'_

Holding on to one end of his ruler, he held his erasure against the other end and bent it back so that when he released it, the ruler would launch the erasure forward like a catapult.

Jaune took careful aim at the back of Cory's head, his eyes narrowed in concentration. _'Remember the achievements page, you want to unlock all of it. You want to excel. Try and get this first try, focus.'_

Jaune's eyes zeroed in on the little perverts crown, the small spot on the back of his head where the strands of his brown hair spiraled around a small dot of exposed scalp. That was what he was aiming for.

_'Focus.'_

He had to get this right the first time. His peripheral vision faded out, as did Ms. Clemens voice. At that moment, all that existed was the erasure, his target, and the line through the air that connected them.

Eyes never leaving the circle of pale skin, Jaune released the tension in the fingers holding the bent ruler in place.

**Ping**

**New skill created.**

The notification couldn't have come at a worse possible time. It's sudden appearance and the accompanying ring was enough to startle Jaune out of his focused state, his aim thrown off just as the ruler straightened and sent the erasure whizzing through the air.

A meaty smack was heard, followed by a deathly stillness.

Jaune could only stare in horror, along with the rest of the class, as Ms. Clemen's sizable derrière gave a few last wobbles before falling as still as the woman herself, who was still facing the whiteboard. Nobody said anything. Nobody moved. It was like staring into the eyes of a snake that was right in front of your face, the fear paralyzing everyone in room.

Slowly, much, much too slowly, the woman turned around, her expression causing the general fear permeating the room to rise to pants-shitting levels.

Her face could have been carved from stone, her lips pressed together to form a pale, thin line. She had her wooden yardstick clenched in a white-knuckled grip by her side while the other was balled into a fist. Her head was tilted forward slightly, like a bull getting ready to charge at a particularly infuriating matador.

Her eyes were what truly terrified her students though. They held an intense, hot fury that could rival the flames of hell, yet when they looked at you, you felt a deathly cold pass through your body, as if a frozen corpse had dragged a finger down your back.

She looked at the erasure at her feet, before raising her terrifying gaze to scan over the frozen class. Jaune had thankfully had enough sense to hurriedly hide his ruler below his desk.

Cory hadn't.

He had played statue along with the rest of class, and was now pissing himself as Ms. Clemen fixed her death gaze on the ruler in his hand, and then on his face.

Still agonizingly slowly, the teacher took a step forward, her face an omen of reckoning, her stiletto heals firing gunshots with each step.

_Clack _

_Clack_

_Clack_

Each step she took was accompanied by a whimper from the trembling boy she stalked towards before finally arriving in front of his desk. Poor Cory was shaking like a hypothermic chihuahua.

Jaune watched on in delighted disbelief and no small amount of terror. This was better than anything he could have hit the pervert with, but at the same time, it could have so easily been his neck on the chopping block. It still could in fact; if someone decided to open their mouth he was done for.

Luckily, they were too busy watching the lioness stalk her prey.

With one startlingly swift movement that caused everyone in the room to flinch, Ms. Clemen grabbed the edge of the desk that separated her from Cory and swept it to the side, eliciting a scream from they boy. Still in his chair, his legs frantically pushing himself backwards and away from the teachers terrifying visage, the plastic chair legs shuddering as they scraped against the tiles.

A four inch, needle-sharp shoe heel slammed into the chair between his legs.

Cory did what any man would do when faced with such a threat to their manhood. He froze stock still and hoped it would go away.

The class was once again silent, staring on in fascinated horror. Ms. Clemen, one foot resting on the chair between Cory's trembling legs, slowly leaned forward and placed the tip of her wooden ruler underneath the boy's chin. She stopped inches away from the boy's pale, terrified face, so that he was looking directly into her blazing eyes.

And then she spoke. The air trembled at her words, carrying hate and pure, undiluted _bloodlust _to the primal instincts inside every student who heard them, causing said instincts to have a full blown panic attack.

**_"If an event like this ever occurs again, sweet boy, your life and soul are forfeit and you will forever suffer in a hell of my own creation."_**

**Ping**

**New skill created**

Poor Cory shat himself and passed out.

Jaune felt like following his example. Next to him, he had the most to fear from his biology teacher. The small bit of delight he had felt at his stroke of dumb luck paying off in dividends had vanished at around about the same time Cory nearly had his scrotum pierced. One snitch and that would be him. When she had begun to speak in a voice that practically _dripped_ malice and bloodlust, every fiber of his being had been telling him to run.

Ms. Clemen watched with a satisfied smirk as Cory slumped in his seat and his body all but melted to the floor. Straightening up, she grabbed one of the unconscious boys wrists and effortlessly dragged him behind her as she walked towards the door.

Just before exiting the room, she paused and turned towards the class.

"I am going to go drop Mr. Fischer here off at the nurses office. I will not be gone long, and in my absence I expect you make good on the expression 'silent as the grave'. If you don't-" her eyes flashed behind her glasses, **"- _then I will. Understand?"_**

She was met by multiple hurried nods from the panic-stricken students.

Silence reigned over the classroom as her shot-like footsteps echoed down the hallway. It rung in their ears like the last reverberations of a bell toll. No one was willing to risk breaking it.

"Is it just me, or was anyone else incredibly turned on by that," spoke up one boy from the back.

Cloth rustled noisily as all eyes turned to stare at him incredulously.

**\- Line Break -**

**Learning the Trade - Completed!**

**You gain 50 EXP**

Jaune stared straight ahead with a blank expression on his face, heart pounding. _'That was intense,' _he practically gasped out in his mind. He sat there for a few moments, trying to calm his heart rate down to sub-vibrational levels. After a while he brought up his menu with a mental command and tapped on the 'Skills' tab with a shaking hand. He had two new skills he wanted to try and distract himself with.

**Due to intense observation, the skill 'Observe' has been created.**

**Observe Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**This skill allows you to examine any person or object and obtain vital information about them. The quantity and quality of information displayed depends on the level of both Observe and Observe's target.**

This was the one that had popped up when he'd been aiming at the back of Cory's head. Jaune wasn't sure whether to be grateful for its timing or to curse it. It had been so good to watch, but at the same time so _terrifying_. At least he wasn't the one in Cory's position.

Moving on to the other skill he'd gained, his eyebrows raised.

**Detect Bloodlust Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**All living things, especially Grimm, are capable of producing a burning, unwavering hate for something; a desire to completely and utterly destroy the target of their ire, known as bloodlust.**

**This skill will detect all bloodlust generated in your vicinity and tell you it's origin and target.**

**Range: 10 meters**

What the hell? How pissed off did his teacher have to be to feel a 'burning, unwavering hate' for Cory? Sure he was a peeping Tom, had gotten caught in the girls locker room a few times, had several counts of molest against him, etc. He was scum for sure, but did that really warrant such loathing?

**Ping**

**Due to surviving in the presence of whatever _the fuck _that was, 'Detect Bloodlust' has leveled up 3 times.**

**Detect Bloodlust Lv. 4 (16.3%)**

**All living things, especially Grimm, are capable of producing a burning, unwavering hate for something; a desire to completely and utterly destroy the target of their ire known as bloodlust.**

**This skill will detect all bloodlust generated in your vicinity and tell you it's origin and target.**

**Range: 18 meters**

Jaune blinked. Apparently it did. Either that or his teacher just had the natural demeanor of a warhead. Jaune went ahead and mentally labeled her as 'Volatile and Extremely Dangerous - Do Not Fuck With'.

Other than the guy with the weird fetish, no one made a sound until Ms. Clemen returned a few minutes later.

"Sorry about that class," she smiled, suddenly all cheer and charm. "Mr. Fischer will not be joining us for the rest of the lesson, so we might as well continue in his absence, hmm?"

She received wary nods from the entire class, who were still to nervous to speak.

"Wonderful!" The teacher grinned and picked up where she had left off when Jau-Cory! When Cory had flicked the erasure at her butt.

Jaune didn't resume the tutorial; after seeing this woman output enough malicious intent to not only create a skill that detects bloodlust, but to level it up _three times _in one go, there was no way in hell he _wasn't_ paying attention to her lesson.

Although he did want to try one thing.

_'Observe,' _he mentally intoned while looking at Ms. Clemen. A window popped up in front of him, similar in appearance to his stats screen. The only difference was this one was a lot less detailed and not his own.

**Danielle Clemen Lv. 11**

**Age: 28**

**'Sweet Citrus'**

**HP: 1750/1750**

**AP: NA**

**Danielle Clemen comes from a struggling family and grew up in the city of Vale. Not knowing what she wanted to do upon entering Vale University, she chose education on a whim. To help pay for her tuition fees, she began moonlighting as a dominatrix. She soon found she enjoyed subjecting submissive males (and the occasional female) to pleasurable torture, and went on to become a popular dominatrix known as Sweet Citrus. She left that life behind to pursue a quiet country life as a teacher, and fiercely guards the secret of her previous profession. **

_'...That would actually explain a lot,' _thought Jaune dazedly, not knowing what else to think. _'Like the way she dresses, the way she acts and that weirdo getting all hot and bothered by her I-am-become-death episode.' _

That last one may have just been the guy though.

Minor epiphany aside, if this was real, he could now read people like books! Sure the books were like, a single paragraph long, but still! Juicy information like what he'd just read didn't need an entire chapter!

_'If it's real.'_

Oumdamnit, the voice was back again. _'Just go away,' _Jaune huffed in frustration at the part of him that still clung to the idea that this was all one big hallucination. _'If anything, this just proves that it is real.'_

It did once you thought about it. Before he'd read Ms. Clemen's bio, he had never once thought that she could have been dominatrix, even though it was obvious in hindsight. He also hadn't known that she had grown up in Vale, or attended VU. No matter how crazy Jaune might be, he couldn't just suddenly know accurate information he didn't know before without ever having been told it.

The only way he could possibly know all that stuff was if this was real. Now all Jaune had to do to shut up this seemingly self-aware feeling of doubt was to prove that what he'd just read was true.

Jaune cringed. There was no good way to do that. He couldn't just walk up to her and ask about her past as a leather clad, whip cracking seductress. Right or wrong, he'd end up dead.

**Ping! ****Quest Alert!**

**Told You So**

**Objectives: Eliminate the last vestiges of doubt that the Gamer's Reality is real by having your murderously inclined teacher admit to being an ex-dominatrix.**

**Completion Rewards: 150 EXP, Clear mind**

**Failure Penalties: Constant lingering doubt that will slowly chip away at your sanity. **

**Accept Y/N**

Jaune looked at the rewards, before looking at the penalties and sighing. 150 EXP wasn't fantastic, but it was something and he needed it. Also, he'd end up suffering the failure penalty if he didn't accept it anyway, so he might as well take it.

Pressing the 'yes' button, Jaune began pondering the best way to approach this. There was the straight forward method of just straight up asking her, but the chances of that working might as well be zero. She'd just deny everything and shish kebab him with that stick of hers for asking such a question.

He could surprise her though.

A plan formed in his mind. It wasn't a great plan, nor was it necessarily a reliable one, but Jaune couldn't think of anything better and the period would be ending any second now.

True as nuts, the bell rang, cueing the students to stand up and begin gathering their things. Jaune did the same, though slower and with no small amount of trepidation. He wanted the rest of his classmates to leave before he went through this, it had a very large chance of backfiring.

As everyone else filed out through the door, he shouldered his backpack, took out the note Mr. Parijeet had given him and nervously made his way over to Ms. Clemens desk. The woman looked up as he approached and gave him a small smile, looking nothing like the image of evil she shown earlier. Jaune shivered at the memory, and then again at the realization that he may just trigger another such reaction with what he was about to do.

"Can I help you, Jaune?" She asked, still giving him a friendly smile.

"Uh, yeah," Jaune responded somewhat hesitantly. He felt his palms grow sweaty, staining the slip of paper in his hands. "I just wanted to apologize for coming late to class, but I have-"

"I'm aware of the circumstances," she cut him off with a frown. "And while I don't condone fighting, I'm not exactly disapproving of you knocking that boy down a few pegs. Hell, if corporal punishment were still allowed I would have given him a few lashes myself ages ago," she said, smacking the wooden ruler into the palm of her hand for emphasis.

_'Of course you would,'_ thought Jaune with a sweat drop.

"So don't worry, I completely understand. You're not on the hook with me," she continued to assure him.

_'Not yet.'_

Outwardly, he simply gave an awkward smile. "Thanks ma'am, thanks a lot."

He nodded his head and continued to stand there and stare at her, his face growing red as he strained to get the words he wanted to say out, his common sense rebelling against his intentions and trying to prevent him from doing something stupid.

_'Just say something already, anything!'_

Ms. Clemens smile became strained as the seconds ticked by and the awkward silence stretched on.

"Well, uh, if that's all, you can-"

"SweetCitrustheexdominatrixsaywhat," Jaune finally managed to blurt out, his face now beet red. The second the last word left his mouth he cursed himself. That was the stupidest thing he could have said, and it left his mouth in such a jumbled mess she probably didn't understand a word.

Except she had. And the effects were near instantaneous.

Jaune watched in surprise as her face went slack and paled, her eyes widening and showing panic. Her ruler dropped out of her hands and she jerked away from him; as if he'd just shoved a snake in her face.

Her mouth twitched as if trying to form words and Jaune could practically see the cogs racing around in her head as it tried to formulate a response, the best it could come up with being a single, shaky word.

"W-What?"

_'She heard me,' _Jaune thought in amazement. _'She heard me and she's panicking. She didn't get angry, she's scared. Scared that I know something I shouldn't. Holy shit, I was right.'_

**Ping**

**Quest 'Told You So' complete. You receive 150 EXP.**

Now Jaune was panicking, he didn't want to be here when she got her feet back under her and went Apocalypse Now his ass. He was certain she wouldn't let him leave without making sure her secret was safe. He was less certain that she wouldn't consider murder to be an acceptable hush up method.

"Nothing, gotta go, bye!" he said in a rush before bolting out of the classroom, leaving a shocked and panicking teacher behind him.

Jaune quickly joined the throng of students in the passage, glancing over his shoulder to make sure death by seductress wasn't nipping at his heel. She wasn't.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he called out to the voice in his mind.

_'You done now?'_

There was no response.

**AN: I'm sorry it took so long to get this out, but it's a big chapter and I've been writing exams for the past two weeks, so yeah. This chapter was actually supposed to be a bit longer, but I decided, 'what the hell' and ended it here. I do have most of the next chapter planned out and some of it written, so it shouldn't be take as long as this one did. **

**Not that much action in this chapter, it was mostly about Jaune coming to terms with his new life, and discovering the mechanics of it. That will change next chapter, I have a few quests and scenarios lined up that will add a bit more excitement to it. The part where Mr. Parijeet details the old culture of Mistral was a bit of world building on my part, and also served to instill a bit of wanderlust in Jaune, which will serve a purpose later on. The more astute among you will realize that the culture I described was quite similar to Indian culture.**

**When I first saw Mistral in volume five, I saw a lot of East Asian influence in the architecture and clothing, and so I got the idea to make each kingdom similar to different regions on earth.**

**Mistral: East Asia**

**Vale: Western Europe**

**Vacuo: A sort of mash up of the Middle East, North Africa and Australia.**

**Atlas: A paradox of North America with a North Korean-like government. Maybe not quite as oppressing, but definitely a Millitary Government.**

**Disclaimer: I reserve the right to shamelessly use 'system updates' as a way to fix errors and flaws that I have made in my design of Jaune's ability.**

**Again, this is my first time writing something for public viewing, so all constructive criticism is welcomed. Also, feel free to review with ideas for quests, achievements and skills, I'm if they're good I'll try and find a way to implement them into the story. **

**Anyway, cheers.**


	3. Not Crazy, but Definitely Delusional

**AN: Just one thing I want to say. I have received a few reviews (which I really appreciated by the way) cautioning me with my use of mana and aura together. I just want to say that skills like mana bullet, spinning mana arrow, etc. - not going to happen. I didn't like them in any other gamer stories so I sure as hell am not going to use them here. Mana is simply going to be the fuel with which skills are executed, and like I said in the tutorial in the last chapter, if Jaune's mana pool reaches zero, there are going to be consequences. So don't worry about that.**

**In regards to aura, that will also be used to fuel certain skills. So Jaune's going to have to use that stuff sparingly once he has it, because once it's gone he's a sitting duck. Mana/aura combination has big advantages yes, but it also comes with its disadvantages.**

Not crazy, but definitely delusional.

Jaune sat down at the cafeteria table with a annoyed huff and began digging around in his bag for the lunch his mom had packed for him. He'd been looking for an opportunity to finish the tutorial ever since nearly giving Ms. Clemen a heart attack, but every class he had been in since then he had been forced to sit near the front off the room. He had tried to be discreet the first time he had called up his menu to access the 'Options' page, but evidently failed. His teacher, upon seeing his hand raising into the air to tap on the flashing tab, had understandably misinterpreted the action and asked him what his question was.

What followed was an awkwardly long pause as a deer-in-the-headlights-like Jaune desperately scrambled for a question to ask. This awkward silence was succeeded by an even longer, more awkward silence as he haltingly asked how the man's weekend was.

The two had stared at each other for a while before the middle-aged man had decided that pretending as if the question hadn't been asked was the best course of action. He had resumed the lesson while Jaune mentally kicked himself and resolved to wait until a better opportunity to finish the tutorial presented itself.

Said opportunity was sure taking its sweet damn time.

_'I'm such a dumbass,' _Jaune scolded himself as he opened the plastic container and grumpily bit into his sandwich. _'There were literally ten other questions I could have asked that would've sounded smarter. "May I go to the bathroom?", or "I don't understand this, could you explain it to me?". Hell, I could've even just said I was stretching and put my hand down, but noooo - "S-so, uh... how was your weekend?"_

Jaune gave a final scoff.

_'Dumbass.'_

**Ping **

**For recognizing your lack of intelligence during an incident and considering possible alternatives, you gain 1 WIS and 1 INT.**

The game was fucking agreeing with him.

"Up yours, Pixels," Jaune growled at the floating screen while flipping it the finger. He had no clue whether there was any point to it, but it made him feel better.

"Excuse me?" Came the indignant reply.

Jaune's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he goggled at the screen.

"Holy shit! You can talk?!"

"Of course I can talk!" Exclaimed the voice, sounding indignant; and a little bit familiar actually. Jaune didn't focus on that though, this 'Gamer's Reality' thing came with an AI, how fucking cool was that!?

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't know you were that advanced! You have to admit, intelligent speach is a little bit of a surprise coming from you, I mean you're-"

A hand came out of the screen and slapped him through the face hard, causing his head to whip to the side.

"Ow!" Jaune exclaimed in shock and pain. _'It can form body parts as well?'_

He turned to give his apparently sentient and corporeal ability What For, but then came to a very important realization.

That hand hand come _through _the screen, not out of it.

**Bloodlust detected. 1 metre in front of you and directed at you.**

There, sitting on the opposite side of the table, behind the notification, was a very insulted and irrate looking Saffron, glaring at him.

Jaune thought her expression was more than justified as he faintly went over the dialogue that had just occured between him and his 'ability'.

_'Observe,' _he quickly thought. He wanted to know how much danger he was in.

**Saffron Arc Lv. 8**

**Age: 16**

**HP: 1300/1300**

**AP: NA**

**Saffron Arc is the third daughter of Malcolm and Vanessa Arc and has six sisters and one brother, who she loves dearly. Saffron is a very social girl and has a network of friends that she regularly hangs out with. She is content with life and subconsciously wishes for it to stay as it is.**

**As of this moment, she is pissed.**

Yep, he was in trouble.

"Are there any other things about me that you want to insult? Does my breath smell bad? Is my hair a mess? Are my boobs too small?" She growled out to her nervous looking brother.

"N-no Saf, you misunderstood! You look perfect, flawless even!" He hurried to appease her; quite unsuccessfully.

"Really? Because if they are too small you can just say so and rip the bandage off. Here, why don't you stab me in the heart while you're at it?" She said while grabbing a plastic knife from the holder in the middle of the table and thrusting it in front of his face, her cerulean eyes glaring into his own uncomfortable ones.

"If I say sorry, can we please stop talking about your boobs?" He asked pleadingly.

She glared a little longer before grumbling and nodding. Just as Jaune thought he was out of the danger zone she grinned evilly at him.

"Oh, that reminds me."

_Smack!_

**Ping**

"Why!?" Shouted Jaune as he cradled his stinging cheek and turned his head in Saffron's direction. As he did so he stole a glance at the new notification that had popped up.

**New skill 'Pain Tolerance' created. Please check skill screen for more information.**

"A little birdie told me about what you did to Ms. Clemen in class." She gestured to a table behind her where a group of her friends were sitting. As Jaune peered over her shoulder, he caught sight of a familiar face glaring at him and groaned. It was the girl he had biology with, the only female in the class. He didn't know she and Saffron were friends.

"How is it that you've lived your whole life surrounded by women and end up thinking that little stunt was okay Jaune?" Saffron hissed, clearly pissed with him. "Flicking an erasure at your teachers ass? That's borderline sexual harassment!"

"Saf, just let me explain." Jaune pleaded with her, his hands held up in a placating gesture. The last thing he wanted to deal with was his sister going nuclear.

"Explain what?" She growled. This was good, she was at least giving him a chance to defend himself. Time to use it.

"I didn't mean to hit Ms. Clemen with that erasure, I was aiming for the back of Cory's head. My aim was off and... well... Cory got blamed for it."

Saffron's face showed confusion for a moment.

"Who's Cor-" she began asking before realization dawned on her. "Cory Fischer? That slimy little weasel?"

"Yeah," Jaune nodded, relieved at seeing her ire being directed elsewhere. "The guy was looking at her like she was a piece of meat he wanted to tear into. It annoyed me, so I tried to hit him with the erasure. I ended up missing and hitting Ms. Clemen's ass instead, but she thought Cory did it and damn near castrated him for it."

Saffron was silent for awhile. "Robin didn't tell me that part, only about what you did."

"Yeah, well Robin better get her facts straight in the future," Jaune muttered petulantly as he rubbed his red cheek. Now that he had successfully prevented Chernobyl II - Saffron edition, he felt he could whine and complain about the physical abuse acted upon him to his hearts content.

Saffron gave him a pointed look. "She's surrounded by morons in that class that just about wet themselves from ogling the teacher every day. What would you think if saw the one guy you thought was decent flick an erasure at your teacher's backside?"

That made Jaune pause as he started to consider what his actions would have looked like from an outside perspective. As he ran through the incident in his head, he could only come to a single conclusion.

"I must have looked like just another pervert that wanted to see Ms. Clemens butt bounce," he sighed. "Okay, so maybe I can't really blame her, but still, she is the reason I got slapped. Twice."

He said that last part while glaring at his slightly sheepish looking sister.

"Sorry about that. I shouldn't have slapped you the second time," she apologized.

"Or the first time!"

"No, no, you deserved that one. Still, I'm sorry about the second one." She said, sending him an apologetic look.

Jaune sighed and looked over at the skill notification he had yet to dismiss. "Don't worry about it, it actually did me a little bit of good," he said with a small smile.

"What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head with a small smile.

Saffron gave him a weird look before seemingly dismissing the strange comment and standing up.

"Well I'm going to go back to my table now and explain to my friends that you are not, in fact, a pervert." She paused while turning around and looked back to him. "Why don't you come join us? It would do you some good to interact with people, maybe make some friends."

Jaune wasn't the most socially adept person in the school, far from it in fact. While Saffron had friends and acquaintances coming out of her ears, Jaune more or less imploded in any social situation, despite (or maybe because of) his best efforts to appear charming.

Saffron and the rest of his sisters had often tried to fix his friendless existence to no avail. Jaune had come to accept his lonesome nature, yet it appeared she had yet to give up. That thought brought a soft smile to his face.

"Maybe you could even put Dad's 'Lady Lessons' to good use," she said with raised eyebrows and a smirk.

Jaune's smile fell as flat as a deadlining cardiograph. _'Or maybe she just wanted to be cruel,' _he thought.

"You know full well that if I tried that there's nothing you could say that would convince them that I'm _not _a pervert," he deadpanned. "You just want to see me make a fool of myself."

"Alas, my evil scheme has been seen through," Saffron proclaimed dramatically, before laughing. "Seriously though, why don't you come along?"

Jaune shook his head. "I'd rather not be slapped again thank you very much."

_'I'd also like to check out that new skill and _finally _finish the tutorial. I can't very well do that while trying to navigate a conversation can I?'_

She shrugged before resuming her walk back to her table. "Your loss, lady killer."

Jaune just rolled his eyes before taking another bite of his sandwich and opening his menu. First, he wanted to check out that new skill.

**Pain Tolerance Lv.1 (0.0%)**

**This skill is a must-have for anyone whose life revolves around combat. Through experiencing pain, you build up a tolerance to it and subsequently become more resilient. This skill reduces all physical damage received by the user.**

**Damage reduction: (VIT * 0.25 1)%**

_'Awesome!" _

Jaune was really pleased with this skill, it looked tailor made for a combat oriented lifestyle, such as that of a huntsman. And besides that, it was just plain cool. The ability to just naturally take less damage? Yes please!

Although if he was reading this right, he'd have to take damage to level this skill up. Jaune was a bit apprehensive of that thought. In order to take less damage, he'd have to receive more of it? That seemed a bit counter productive.

Jaune thought about it a bit more before shaking his head. _'You want to be a huntsman don't you? Pain is going to become a big part of your life once you reach that goal; might as well benefit from it.'_

**Ping**

**Achievement 'Learning Curve' completed. You receive 300 EXP.**

**Ping **

**You have leveled up.**

**Ping **

**Achievement 'Hit the Ground Running' completed. You receive 5 Points.**

Jaune's eyebrows rose in surprise at the sudden onslaught of notifications. Quickly switching to the 'Achievements' page, he saw that two entries that were previously made up of question marks were now legible.

**Learning Curve**

**You created/gained three skills before the tutorial ended.**

**Reward: 300 EXP**

**Hit the Ground Running**

**You leveled up before the end of the tutorial.**

**Reward: 5 Points**

Grinning at the achievements and the rewards they gave, Jaune quickly opened the 'Stats' page.

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15**

**Title: NA**

**Class/es: NA**

**Level 2 (100/600 EXP)**

**Health: 625/625 (2%/min)**

**Mana: 420/420 (3%/min)**

**Aura: NA**

**Stats:**

**STR - 5**

**VIT - 8**

**DEX - 6**

**INT - 12**

**WIS - 13**

**LUK - 5**

**Points - 10**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune's greatest desire is to be a huntsman, and continues to yearn for his dream despite his fathers unsupportive nature and his own woefully inadequate skills. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**He is currently excited about his sudden progress.**

Jaune grumbled at again seeing the part about his poor skills. It wasn't his fault his father had point-blank refused to send him to a combat school or teach him anything himself. Not that he would have been able to teach him much - Malcom had zero combat experience.

_'Then again,' _thought Jaune slightly uneasily, _'Saffron has lived near the exact same lifestyle as me, and she's six levels above me.' _This thought had some unsettling implications. He hadn't given it a second thought when he'd first seen he was at level one, that's what all video game characters started out as. When he had seen Ms. Clemens level, he had dismissed the disparity between his and hers as she was an adult.

But Saffron wasn't even a year older than him, and she lived in the same house as him for Oum's sake. How was it that she was four times his level? Was she really that much stronger than him?

... Or was he really that much weaker?

A feeling of unease growing inside him, Jaune looked to the people in the cafeteria around him. So far he had only observed two people; how did he compare to everyone else?

Looking at the occupants of the table closest to his own, Jaune caught sight of a guy he knew was on the swimming team.

_'Observe.'_

**Nolan Wright Lv. 9**

**'Dolphin'**

**HP: 1500/1500**

**AP: NA**

**Nolan Wright is an only child to the owners of a greengrocers. He enjoys spending time with his friends and partying. He recently won a gold medal in the regional Open-water 6 mile race, and has unknowingly gained attention from sponsers and scouts.**

Jaune cringed. That wasn't good news for him. For Nolan it was probably fantastic, but the fact that he was an even higher level than Saffron didn't bode well for Jaune. Hell, he even had a title! Moving on to the girl next to him, he hoped to see a lower level.

**Miranda Grove Lv. 6**

Jaune didn't bother reading the rest, right now he was only interested in the number next to her name. It was lower than Nolan's, but still higher than his own by disturbing margin. His heart sinking, Jaune moved his gaze on to the next person in line. And the next, and the one after them. Each one caused his chest to constrict just a little tighter.

**Kevin Nell Lv. 7**

**Horace Draperé Lv. 8**

**Grace Kirsten Lv. 7**

Upon observing Grace, a notification popped up.

**Ping! **

**Skill 'Observe' has leveled up!**

**Observe Lv. 2 (27.9%)**

**This skill allows you to examine any person or object and obtain vital information about them. The quantity and quality of information displayed depends on the level of both Observe and Observe's target.**

Jaune gave the notification a cursory glance before hastily dismissing it and casting Observe on another person, a feeling of dread welling up inside his chest. The information he received this time both lifted his spirits and brought them _way _down.

**Bradley Tellyard Lv. 6**

**HP: 975/975 **

**AP: NA**

**Stats: **

**STR - 15**

**VIT - 11**

**DEX - 10**

**INT - 16**

**WIS - 13**

**LUK - 7**

**Bradley comes from a typical family; two younger siblings and two hardworking parents that earn enough to provide a generous lifestyle. He is a capable student and plans to become an engineer in the future.**

**He is currently enjoying a cheeseburger.**

So not only could Jaune now see a persons level and health, he could also see their stats. This would have been a good thing if everyone's stats didn't outclass his so _easily_. As he viewed a few more peoples stats, he saw that he could really only compete with their WIS and INT scores, and even then only some of the time. There were a few outliers, but generally most people's stats seemed to hover at around fifteen.

There were some freakishly smart people who had INT and WIS scores in the twenties, and after observing Nolan again, Jaune saw the boy had a VIT score of 23. The lowest level he had seen so far was a particularly chubby boy at level 5, who Jaune had once seen get winded from climbing the stairs.

And here he was sitting at level freaking 2.

Jaune felt an irrational anger and feeling of inadequacy rise up inside him. Why the hell was he so weak!? Was he just naturally at level one, or did it reset when he had received the Gamer's Reality? Either way, it wasn't fair! How was he supposed to become a huntsman when he was outclassed by someone that looked like Augustus Gloop!? All of the people in the cafeteria were just normal teenagers, probably nowhere near the level of an aura-capable huntsman in training, and they were so much stronger than him it wasn't even funny. How was he supposed to accomplish his dream from where he was now?

The previous doubts that had begun creeping in under Cords torment had disappeared when Jaune had stood up to him, but they now returned in full force. The one thing he had wanted more than anything in the world, the thing he had desired since he was six, the dream that he had defended with every fiber of his being from the person whose support he wanted the most, was suddenly looking very out of reach.

The anger, despair and feeling of inadequacy continued to swirl around inside his head for a few seconds, driving him to the edge of a panic attack, before they were suddenly washed away like dirt before water. A calm, soothing presence filled his mind and freed him from the suffocating and oppressive thoughts.

**Ping! **

**Gamer's Mind active!**

Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath, able to think clearly now. Yes, it was glaringly obvious that right now he was by far the weakest person in the room. As he was now, there was no way he would ever be a huntsman. No academy in their right mind would accept him, let alone one of the Big Four.

But he still had almost two years before he could apply to any of them. That was plenty of time to get strong enough to pass the entrance exam. And he had something no-one else did, something that he could use to get stronger.

He had the Gamer's Reality.

He'd had it for less than a day, and he'd already leveled up. Everybody in the cafeteria had to have leveled up at a rate of less than once a year, but he'd done it in a day-heck, before the tutorial was even over! If he could keep up that rate of progress, than he'd be stronger than anyone in the school in no time. He had nothing to worry about, so long as he began training and getting stronger.

Like right now; he had ten points to spend.

Opening his eyes that now burned cobalt with determination, Jaune re-opened his stats page and began assigning points.

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15**

**Title: NA**

**Class/es: NA**

**Level 2 (100/600 EXP)**

**Health: 625/625 (2%/min)**

**Mana: 420/420 (3%/min)**

**Aura: NA**

**Stats:**

**STR - 9**

**VIT - 9**

**DEX - 9**

**INT - 12**

**WIS - 13**

**LUK - 7**

**Points - 0**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune's greatest desire is to be a huntsman, and continues to yearn for his dream despite his fathers unsupportive nature and his own woefully inadequate skills. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**He is currently determined to achieve his dream.**

It had been tempting to simply dump all of them into STR, or possibly DEX, but that wasn't Jaune's style. He didn't like the thought of being insanely strong in one area, but weak in others; he knew that if he were to do that he would eventually run into a problem that he wasn't equipped to handle. When he had played RPG's in the past he had always gone for generalist builds that weren't weak in any aspect, and he didn't see any reason to change that now, especially when it would eventually be his life on the line. He didn't want to end up stronger than a Goliath only to die because he was too slow to dodge a Boarbatusk charge.

So since his stats were loaded in favor of his mental attributes, he had spread his points out amongst his physical ones, bringing them all up to an even nine. He had briefly wondered on what to do with the last two points before he shrugged and put them in LUK. That seemed as good a stat to raise as any, he was literally making himself more lucky.

**Ping!**

**Confirm stat change? Y/N**

Jaune gave the numbers a final look over, decided he was satisfied, and pressed 'Yes'.

The effects were near instantaneous. Jaune let out a surprised gasp as a sudden heat spread through-out his body, crawling along the surface of his skin until he felt like he was sitting next to a bonfire. The heat slowly sank into his muscles and his bones, causing them to ripple underneath his flesh as they expanded and contracted, before finally settling. The heat disappeared, but left his skin tingling like a he'd just touched an electric Dust crystal. His palms tingled and his heart raced as adrenaline flooded his body.

Jaune let out a shaky breath as the not entirely unpleasant experience came to an end. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination or an after effect of what ever had just happened, but his muscles felt slightly tighter than before, and his body felt heavier.

He let out a quiet laugh. It had worked. A grin now in place, Jaune lifted his gaze to the top of the screen were the flashing tab labeled 'Options' was.

_'Time to finally finish this tutorial," _he thought happily.

**_Bbbbbrrrrrriiiiinnnngggg!_**

And then the bell rang.

Jaune let his head fall to the table with a groan. _'I fucking jinxed it.'_

**\- Line Break -**

"And so if we look at verse line four, we can see that Quiverlance is making time to think about his departed friends, and that he greatly..."

Jaune liked Mr. Brunt, he really did. The man had a dry sense of humor that he used graciously, as well as a slightly cynical, but greatly refreshing world view that kept most of the class engaged during class discussions and poetry analysis, which was what they were doing now. Jaune wasn't especially good at english, nor did he really like the subject, but having Mr. Brunt as a teacher made the lessons enjoyable.

That being said, there was only so much of a depressing-ass poem you could read before people's eyes start drooping.

All around the class, Jaune could see heads dipping slowly, only to jerk back up as some natural instinct registered that they were falling and yanked them back from the edge of the sweet, dark abyss known as unconsciousness.

_'Gah, poetry has got me talking like the guest speaker at a depression convention,' _Jaune growled in his head, barely keeping his chin balanced on top of his palm as he stared blankly at the teacher in front of the class.

The man looked like he was boring himself. He stood in front of the whiteboard with one hand holding the book and keeping it open, while the other was stuffed inside his pocket. As he read the poem and it's attached notes, Jaune could see his eyes glaze over a little more and his slouch deepen with every word he spoke.

You know when you're reading something and you find that you've read through an entire page and registered none of it? Jaune was pretty sure Mr. Brunt was doing something similar at the moment. Jaune wished the man would just give up and tell them a story about his days in the huntsman corps. It wasn't something he did often, but every time he did, he had the classes full attention, Jaune's especially. His stories of heroism, of cutting down Grimm in forests and saving villages from entire hordes never failed to reaffirm all of Jaune's dreams and his desire to be huntsman.

The man had a flair for story telling, and each tale he told was one of glory and honor, where they would be thanked and generously rewarded for their efforts in defending humanity, where comrades would risk their lives for each other, where they would all gather together after the battle was done and celebrate another victory and another day alive.

Jaune realized the way he described it was childish and probably unrealistic, but those were the sort of feelings that he felt when listening to them. Mr. Brunt would start talking and all of a sudden he was seven again, excitedly watching cartoons of huntsman heroes and promising himself he would be just like them one day, just like his great-grandfather the hero, Nicholas Arc. He knew it was childish, but he didn't care. It was his dream, and he would achieve it.

Speaking of dreams, the teacher was still droning on about Sonnet 30.

"-the first word of stanza three is the word 'then', which is an indicator of..." the man slowly trailed off while giving the book in his hand a dead stare, causing a few people to look at him curiously.

"Oum above, I'm putting myself to sleep," he sighed explosively, snapping the book shut and the near comatose teenagers awake.

"Look here, munchkins," he addressed them, while glancing at the clock. "There's about fifteen minutes left in the period. If you stay quiet, you can do whatever you want while I go make myself some coffee and drink it. Sound like a deal?"

The reply was an enthusiastic affirmative.

Mr. Brunt suddenly reached up to his left arm and detached his prosthetic, an action that startled many of the students, Jaune included. He then propped the metallic arm up against the whiteboard and the little ledge it had to hold the markers, it's palm facing the room.

"This thing has a small video camera built into it. When I get back I'm going to watch everything that occurred in this room. So don't go lighting up joints or having an orgy on top of the desks you hear? If I have to watch that shit when I get back I'm going jump out the window, ok?

The reply was a decidedly less enthusiastic affirmative. What kind of people did he think they were?

"Ok," he stated with a small, tired smile, as if he had found a little bit of happiness after a bad day. He proceeded to almost skip out of the class, not giving a fuck about the bewildered stares that followed him. He was about to get some coffee.

The class sat still for few moments, trying to come to terms with what an actual authority figure had just said to them. Then they all decided they didn't really care and pulled out their scrolls.

Except Jaune. He saw this as an opportunity to finish the tutorial; there was only a single page left to check and he was _through _with being interrupted damnit! Making sure his classmates were suffiently absorbed in their screens, he called up the menu with a mental command.

_'Menu.'_

The screen popped into existance, showing his stats page by default. There at the top of the page, right at the end of the row of tabs, was the final flashing page: 'Options'. Jaune clicked on it, eager to see what parts of his new reality he had control over.

The list was disappointingly short.

There were four options. At first glance, kind of a let down, but seeing what those options actually were caused him to perk back up.

**HUD Off**

**Mini-map Off**

**Background Music Off**

**Hints Off**

Jaune nearly salivated at seeing this. In a normal game, they wouldn't be anything special; heck they were nearly customary. But this was real life. He could have _background music_ in _real life_, and a HUD, and a mini-map! These things would be invaluable, especially once he became a huntsman. The HUD would display valuable information like his health and mana during a fight, without having to access his stats page; that sort of information was invaluable in the midst of combat.

Quickly switching all of the options on, Jaune blinked as his vision suddenly changed. Translucent images appeared on the edges of his peripherals, fading into focus as as he turned his attention to them. In the top left corner of his sight were three bars, one red, one blue and the last partially-filled one was golden, and a bit of a mystery. Jaune gave it a puzzled frown as he tried to work out what its function was. The red and blue ones were undoubtedly his health and mana, and if his aura were unlocked he'd suspect it of being that, but it wasn't.

Maybe it was his EXP bar? It wasn't uncommon to see them in certain games, and it was about one sixth full so it would fit. Jaune shrugged, he'd just have to watch it the next time he got EXP and see if it filled up.

In the bottom left corner of his vision was a small, blue circle that had gray lines criss-crossing it, a few of them forming a rectangle in the middle of it. Placed dead-center inside the circle was a blue arrow pointing towards one of the shorter sides of the rectangle.

_'Mini-map: Check.'_

Jaune thought with a grin. He then turned his attention to the biggest and most noticeable change. It seems the HUD didn't display just _his_ information.

Above the heads of every single one of his classmates was now a box similar to his 'Stats' screen, except the information displayed was greatly reduced.

**Jenny Walker Lv. 6**

**Dylan Morris Lv. 8**

**Verdant Reeds Lv. 7**

And so forth and so forth. Each box contained the persons name and level, as well as a single red bar below them. Jaune's mouth twisted slightly in consternation. This would have been useful to have before he'd gone and cast Observe on fifteen odd people in the cafeteria; though he did level the skill up, so he couldn't grumble too much about it.

Straining his ears, Jaune tried to hear the background music and frowned when he couldn't.

_'Maybe it only activates in certain situations,' _he mused. If that was the case, then it was probably a good thing. While background music was quite useful in games to monitor the current danger level the character was in, having what was essentially elevator music playing 24/7 would get old fast. Better to have it only activate when necessary instead of wearing his patience thin.

The only other thing was the hints, and Jaune didn't really see any way to test that. At the moment it didn't really matter, so he'd just let it be for now and assume it was working properly.

And so finally, the tutorial came to an end.

**Ping**

**'The First Step'- completed! **

**You receive 100 EXP.**

Jaune quickly glanced at the golden bar beneath his health and mana and sure enough, it had filled up slightly.

_'So it is an EXP bar, cool.'_

**Ping**

Jaune turned to look at the new notification in curiosity.

**You have successfully completed the tutorial for the Gamers Reality, and have such unlocked a quest. **

**High Five**

**Objectives: Reach level 5 and choose a class.**

**Completion Rewards: Class, 3 Skill books, 5000 Lien, 2000 EXP.**

**Failure Penalties: You remain inferior to a chubby highschool student for the rest of your life, dreams remain unachieved.**

Weirdly, this quest alert didn't have an accept/decline option-it looked like it was mandatory. Jaune shrugged at that, it wasn't like he would have declined anyway. Reaching level five was sort of a guarantee, and those rewards were enough to make him salivate, especially those skill books. Skills were something he was sorely lacking at the moment and receiving three of them just for reaching level five was an absolute steal.

Medium-term goal established, Jaune began planning his long-term goal: becoming a huntsman. He was serious about it, and seeing how he compared to his school mates had been a bit of an eye-opener. Becoming a huntsman had always been something he aspired to do, but he had never actually thought about how he might accomplish it.

That is, until the Gamer's Reality showed him just how low down on the Ladder of Ability he was.

_'First things first, I should probably get an idea of an actual huntsman's level and stats,' _Jaune thought. It would give him a target to shoot for; show him how strong he needed to be to succeed. This shouldn't be too difficult of a task, there were plenty of huntsman that wondered the streets of both Shion and Nordain, and they were quite easy to spot. Huntsman tended to be unique individuals, dressing in bright, eccentric clothing and toting around ridiculous, yet effective weapons. He'd end up spotting one eventually.

_'Or I could just Observe Mr. Brunt,' _Jaune nearly face palmed as the thought occured to him. The man was a retired huntsman, one that gave a strong impression of strength, and he'd be back from his coffee break sooner or later. Jaune could just Observe him when he did.

Nodding to himself, the blonde boy moved onto the second issue, weapons. Specifically his lack of them. The weapons that he'd seen on the different huntsman that came through Nordain and Shion were incredibly varied; nearly everything doubled as a gun or some form of ranged weaponry and none of them worked without Dust, another thing he didn't have.

If Jaune wanted to level up, he needed EXP. He could gain a lot of EXP by fighting and defeating enemies. He _couldn't _do that without a weapon.

He _couldn't _get a weapon because that would require a metric fuckton of Lien and someone to make it for him. Heck, he wasn't even sure what he wanted- the most weapon-like thing he'd ever held was a wood-axe.

Jaune paused as a _very_ bad idea suddenly occured to him. He actually did know of a place where he could get huntsman grade weapons, and a lot of them. The reason he knew they were huntsman grade was because they _belonged_ to huntsman.

It usually didn't take his dad long to fix or alter a weapon, and when he was finished with it he'd store it in his workshop until it's owner came back to get it, which could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days. If he 'borrowed' the weapon during the period between when it was finished and when it's wielder came to pick it up, would it really cause anyone any harm?

_'...Well, yes, there is a very good chance of that happening. It's a _weapon.'

Jaune grimaced. Stealing a weapon that he didn't know how to use from a huntsman - who tended to be _very _proud and protective of their weapons, according to his dad - was not a good idea in the slightest. The chances of him getting caught or injuring himself or someone else were too high to even make it a 'maybe' plan. It was just too dangerous. And if his dad found out, that was it. He'd be furious, disappointed and worst of all, right. He'd never trust him again, never let him out of his sight again. Whatever relationship the two had would be destroyed.

Despite this, he couldn't bring himself to completely dismiss the idea either, it was the only one he had. He instead decided to uncomfortably push it to the back of his mind for further thought, though he'd prefer to come up with something else.

He started thinking of alternatives, namely just relying on his skills, which then led to a third issue. He currently had three skills, only two of which were any use in combat and none that were offensive in nature. That wasn't good at all. He needed to find or create more, as many as possible. And he didn't know of a good way to do that. The three he had created thus far had been products of blind luck, and he doubted he'd know what a skill book would look like if it hit him in the face. He'd need to think of something.

Jaune's frown deepened as each problem presented itself without an obvious solution to it. Worry and anxiety began building up again inside him, before that same soothing feeling flowed through his mind like water and washed them away, clearing his head.

**Ping **

**Gamer's Mind active.**

Jaune was sure that solutions to the last two problems would present themselves in time, and if they didn't then he would have to make a plan. Right now though, he should focus on the one thing he knew he could do, namely figuring out where a huntsman stood in terms of level and stats. After that, he could figure out what he should focus on and make a plan to get up to that level.

Once he got back home he could start thinking of ways he could obtain a weapon and some combat skills, but for now he'd wait until Mr. Blunt came back.

Turns out Jaune wouldn't have to wait long. Mr Brunt came striding into the classroom a few minutes later, a steaming, partially empty cup of coffee in his one hand, which he placed down on his desk. He then used his free hand to grab his prosthetic from its perch against the board and slip it back onto his arm.

A few of the other people in the classroom had briefly looked in his direction when he'd entered the room before quickly going back to their scrolls. Jaune, however, had glued his eyes to the mountain of a man upon his entry and had frowned at what he saw.

**Alford Brunt Lv. ?**

**'Oak of the Emerald'**

Jaune fleetingly admired the badass title whose meaning was lost on him before he honed in on the question mark that represented the man's level.

_'That... is not a good sign_,' Jaune decided.

_'Observe.'_

He was greeted by a wall of question marks.

**Alford Brunt Lv. ?**

**'Oak of the Emerald'**

**HP: ?**

**AP: ?**

**Stats: **

**STR - ?**

**VIT - ?**

**DEX - ?**

**INT - ?**

**WIS - ?**

**LUK - ?**

**???**

**He is currently enjoying Devils Brew coffee.**

That was it. The man's name, his title and the fact that he was drinking a brand of coffee Jaune was pretty sure was a health risk. Even without 'Observe' Jaune already knew two of those things. The lack of information was disheartening.

_'And more than a little fucking infuriating,' _Jaune growled. The one thing he thought would be a slice of cake turned out to be just as much of a problem as the other two. Were a few numbers and words really too much to ask for?

_'Well, it might not be exact information, but this does tell me one thing,' _Jaune grimaced after a few more grumbled thoughts. _'The Gamer's Reality deems Alford Brunt so far out of my league I'm not even worthy of seeing how strong he is.'_

Jaune sat there for a few more minutes, just staring at the man who was contently sipping at his coffee and staring at the center of his prosthetic hand. Jaune craned his head and just managed to catch sight of a small screen playing a video on the center of his palm.

_'Huh, so he wasn't joking about that,' _

Jaune thought, remembering his threat of putting them under surveillance while he was gone, choosing to forget his exact reasons for doing so.

Jaune continued to stare until the bell rang, at a loss for something better to do. It seemed like he'd have to level up before he could properly Observe the man, and to do that he'd have to solve the other two problems. The skills issue wasn't strictly necessary, but a weapon was. Jaune sighed, he felt like he'd run into a brick wall that he'd just seen and scoffed at.

As the other students put their scrolls away and packed up their things, Mr. Brunt looked up and made eye contact with him, nearly stopping his heart and causing his thoughts to kick into an overdrive that Gamer's Mind couldn't quite keep up with.

_'Oh shit, he caught me staring! Has he known I've been staring this whole time? Of course he has dumbass, he's a huntsman; he's probably aware of a fly farting in the next room over. Oh crap, he's going to say something, I'm so fu-'_

"Arc! Come here for a moment!"

_'Fuck!'_

**Ping!**

**Background music activated: Jaws theme song.**

The sudden ominous music nearly caused him to scream like a little bitch.

His classmates stopped what they were doing and looked between him and their English teacher. Some grinned at him in a way that showed they were thinking along the same lines as himself, namely that he was in deep shit for some reason or another. The general consensus was that it was probably this mornings fight with Cord, who hadn't been seen since. A few '_Oooo'_s were uttered through out the room, but were silenced by the sharp look Mr. Brunt leveled at the group of teenagers, who quickly began shuffling out of the classroom after that.

Jaune walked towards the desk with a queasy feeling in his stomach, one that wasn't helped by the ominous shark music still plaingy. He stopped right in front of the desk and waited for Mr. Brunt to say something, looking at him expectantly while the man stared back impassively. The silence stretched on, Jaune's anxiety increasing with every moment that passed. He was at the point of bursting when Mr. Brunt, who had been waiting for the last student to leave the room, finally spoke.

"He's been suspended," the man said suddenly.

The statement caught Jaune flat-footed. _'Huh?'_

"Wha-Excuse me?" He asked, not quite comprehending what Mr. Brunt meant.

"Cord, he's been suspended," He repeated, sounding quite annoyed while doing so. It was as if the sentence left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Jaune blinked.

"Oh," he breathed with a sigh of relief. So he wasn't in trouble, Mr. Brunt just wanted to debrief him about this mornings fight. Without having a sword hovering over his neck, Jaune frowned as he processed the mountainous man's words.

"Only suspended sir?" He asked. How the fuck had Cord gotten off with just a suspension? That was easily assault and a criminal charge- an expulsion at the absolute least.

"Trust me, I'm not happy about it in the slightest," Mr. Brunt grunted. "Headmaster Malachite called his father and the same old song and dance went on. The old brown-noser and his vinegar-swigging retirement fund provider pulled out policies and bylaws from the back-ass end of the rulebook that _somehow _brought the boy's punishment down to a months suspension."

The man took a long swig of his coffee, wishing it were alcohol. He then remembered exactly what brand of caffeine he was drinking and decided it was just as potent.

"You seem to be quite... irritated... by this decision," Jaune replied carefully, recognizing the look of someone who dealed with stupidity on a daily basis and was an inch away from smacking someone. It seemed to be a common expression amongst teachers for some reason.

"I wanted to grab the headmaster by his wrinkled ball sac and use him like ye' olde billy club to beat the grease off Severus Sage's hair," the man confirmed, ignoring the shocked sputtering and wide eyes of the boy he was talking to, who also happened to be slightly impressed at the man's ability to seemlessly join Olde English, testicles and a pop-culture reference into a single insult.

"I-I see," Jaune stuttered. He really didn't, nor did he want to; he was pretty sure it would make him a witness to sexual harassment and assault. Would it be considered sexual assault if Mr. Brunt used someone as a weapon and their balls as the grip, or just assault of a moderately sexual nature? A question if ever there was one.

"Well, uh, thanks for letting me know, but if that's all I have to-" he began saying before Mr. Brunt cut him off.

"Actually, there is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about," he said while reaching over to the stacks of paper that sat on the shelf behind his desk. He plucked a stapled pack of pages from one of them and plopped it on the desk in front of him. "Your essay."

Jaune winced. A few weeks ago they had written essays on their deepest desires as an assessment. He'd -obviously- written about wanting to be huntsman, something he was actually passionate about, and in his opinion he'd penned a fucking Pulitzer Prize. The fact that his English teacher now wanted to talk to him about it obviously spoke to the contrary.

"Was it really that bad?"

"No actually, it was quite good. I don't think there were any spelling mistakes, and you made very few grammatical errors. Eighty nine percent."

Jaune's eyes widened as he caught sight of the two red, circled numbers on the cover of his essay. That was one of the highest marks he'd ever gotten for anything!

"What I wanted to talk to you about is the content," Mr. Brunt continued, suddenly looking quite serious. "Being a huntsman, that's not just something you made up for the essay is it? You actually want to do it?"

Jaune was surprised by the question, but answered it nonetheless.

"More than anything," he said firmly.

Mr. Brunt sighed and took another alcoholic-like gulp of his coffee. "I was afraid of that," he admitted.

Jaune frowned, slightly indignant.

"Excuse me?"

Mr. Brunt gave him with a sympathetic look, before proceeding to crush the boy's world.

"I'd recommend that you rethink that idea kid. I don't think you're cut out for it."

Jaune blinked, and then gaped, and then started glaring. Indignation became shock, before rapidly turning into anger. _'_This _is what he wanted to talk about?' _

The man continued speaking; he had expected a reaction like this.

"You should look into becoming a doctor or an engineer or something. Maybe even a smith like your old man, or a poli-"

"With all due respect sir," Jaune cut him off with a frosty tone, "I get enough of this at home from my dad. I'd rather not go through the same thing at school; I've made up my mind and I'm not changing it. I've got to get to my next class now."

He turned and began walking towards the door, a scowl on his face, but stopped as he teacher spoke again, this time with a harder edge to his naturally gravelly voice.

"Your father's not a huntsman or anything near a warrior, boy," he said. "I am. Now sit down and listen."

Jaune could hear his chair creaking as he leant forward in it.

For a few seconds the boy did nothing, but ultimately he knew he wouldn't disobey. This was the one teacher he didn't want disliking him. And so turning around with a grumble, he went and sat in the plastic chair in front of the desk. For a few moments there was silence between student and teacher. When it was obvious Jaune wasn't going to say anything, Mr. Brunt resumed speaking.

With a sigh he asked, "Why do you think I'm advising against you becoming a huntsman?"

"Probably for the same reasons as my dad," Jaune said with a bitter note to his voice, scowling at the ground. "I'm too skinny, I've got no combat experience, my grades are barely decent for a normal highschool let alone a combat academy, etc." he listed off the reasons his father had come up with during past arguments.

Mr. Brunt pursed his lips. "Well none of that helps your case, but it's nothing that can't be fixed with time and hard work." He looked Jaune up and down with a critical eye. "A _lot _of time and hard work."

The blonde boy glared at him for the obvious jab at his physique, but knew he spoke the truth.

"So no, none of that is what I have a problem with," Mr. Brunt leant back and put his hands behind his head. "Why do you want to be a huntsman, Arc?" He asked abruptly. His gaze bored into Jaune's eyes, and his body was tensed like wound spring.

The question surprised Jaune. "I want to be someone who helps people. I want to be a hero," he said honestly.

"That!" The english teacher suddenly leant forward and shouted, startling Jaune. "That right there is what I have a problem with!"

Jaune was not prepared for the man's sudden outburst, nor the severe glare that accompanied it.

"Wanting to be a hero?" He asked in confusion, as well as a small amount of fright.

"Your mindset!" Said Mr. Brunt, still glaring. "You seem to think that being a huntsman is some job that's full of glory and honor, where you save the day and people look up at you in awe and adoration as you hoist some massive weapon above your shoulder. That's the sort of bullshit you wrote in here," he exclaimed, jabbing a finger down on top of his essay, the paper crinkling from the force.

"Not only is in childishly naive and unrealistic, it's just plain wrong!"

Each word was like a smack in Jaune's face, leaving him off-balance and struggling to comprehend what was happening.

"Wha-?" He began asking, before being cut off.

"Why haven't you begun training?!" Mr. Brunt suddenly demanded.

Jaune blinked at the non-sequitur.

"Excuse me?"

"You want to be accepted into one of the academies right? Why the hell haven't you begun training!?"

Jaune gaped at the man.

"Wha-I-...My dad refused to send me to-"

"Screw your father!" Mr. Brunt suddenly roared. "You want to be a huntsman and your greatest obstacle is that you don't have daddy's permission!? You're going to let something like that stop you from training?! What kind of huntsman is that!? Even if he refused to send you to a combat school, have you done anything to improve yourself? Have you exercised? Have you studied? Have you put in _any_ work towards your goal!?"

The words were like a smack to the face. He felt embarrassment and indignation sting him as his cheeks grew red.

_'That's not fair!' _he thought. He'd resolved today to start training. _'I only got the Gamer's Reality this mor...ning...' _Jaune's angry thoughts trailed off as he realized something. He _had_ only received the Gamers Reality this morning, but what about everyone else? The other people his age who wanted to be huntsman? Had they also received reality altering powers to help them? Jaune somehow doubted it.

Those people would have to train without quests, without EXP and level-ups and stat points. To get up to the level required to enter a huntsman academy would take ages like that. They had probably started training years ago.

_'Just like I should have,' _Jaune thought.

There had been nothing stopping him from training himself. Even if he didn't have anyone to teach him the necessary combat skills, he should have done the things that he could do. He should have exercised, built himself up to a proper huntsman physique. There was nothing stopping him from excelling in school except for his own laziness. He could have practiced his survival skills or- or something! Not once had he ever tried to be the best that he could be.

And huntsman were the best.

He'd always expected to just...make it. It wouldn't be fair if he didn't after all. He'd hoped and dreamed since he was six, it wouldn't be right if the universe didn't grant a wish that had lasted that long, especially in the face of his father's adversity.

But it had never been up to the universe, it had been up to him and him alone. And he'd done nothing. The Gamer's Reality wasn't an advantage, it was a lifeline.

Mr. Brunt watched as the emotions rippled over the teenagers face, knowing that the boy was starting to understand.

"You know, there's someone else at this school who also wants to be a huntsman," he said, this time with a softer tone.

"There is?" Jaune said, only half listening. He was still mulling over what was now an obviously big fuck up on his part.

"Mhmm. Corduroy Pike."

The name startled Jaune out of his reverie. That fact, more than anything, was the biggest surprise of the day.

"What!?"

"Oh, don't look so shocked," Mr. Brunt said gruffly. "Is it really so much of a surprise that the little sociopath wants to follow in daddy's footsteps? He also wrote his essay on wanting to be a huntsman, albeit he got a much lower mark."

The teacher then gave Jaune a piercing look. "While his personality is deplorable, that boy has a good chance of actually achieving his goal, as loathe as I am to admit it."

That caused Jaune to start sputtering indignantly, before he was cut off.

"He has been training since he was eleven. Those muscles he's so proud of; he gained them through working out almost every single day for five years. I sometimes see him running through the forest to work on his agility, climbing and jumping between trees and over rocks. His father has taught him how to fight, but that's it. Every other aspect of himself he gained through hard work. I hate his guts, but if he does become a huntsman, no one can say he didn't earn it."

If Jaune felt bad before, he felt like utter shit now. Having one of your favorite teachers, who also happened to be a seasoned veteran, tell you that the person you both mutually hate has a greater right to your dream sucked.

"The reason I'm telling you all this is because of what you wrote in here, Jaune," Mr. Brunt said, again referencing his essay. "It's... infuriatingly naive, almost disrespectful. As someone who has worked as a huntsman for almost seven years, I actually got a little offended by your idea of what that kind of life is like."

"But-... But that's exactly the sort of stuff you described in those stories you told us!" Jaune scrambled to defend, but was met with an incredulous scoff.

"Those stories? Ninety percent of them were complete fiction, and the ones that weren't were heavily watered down versions of my tamest experiences. None of that stuff ever happened."

Jaune's mouth flapped up and down as a desperate sort of fear took root in the center of his chest, constricting his heart like a python.

"But what about-" he began, but was ignored.

"How about I tell you a real story. A true, honest account of real events that isn't censored or has filters like the tales you've been told all your life, one that shows the real life of a huntsman. Would you like to hear it?"

The blonde boy could only stare at Mr. Brunt in astonishment. He wasn't sure he did want to hear it. In just a few minutes, the man had cast more doubt on his hopes and dreams than his father had in almost ten years. He was scared that if he listened to this story, he'd hear something he didn't want to hear. Reasons, actual solid evidence of why his dream was a bad idea; why he couldn't or shouldn't be a huntsman.

Mr. Brunt took his silence as an agreement.

"I attended Beacon Academy," he began as he lent back in his chair. "During the course of four years my team and I, as well as others, were forged into Grimm slayers and soldiers, trained to fight and kill any threat to humanity... Grimm or otherwise."

Those last words and the way they were spoken reminded Jaune of the uncomfortable reality that huntsman weren't exclusively used to combat Grimm. There were many aura-awoken criminals, terrorists and bandits who proved to be too much for regular law enforcement to handle. In such cases, huntsman were deployed. They weren't commonly sent after human or faunus threats, but when they were, it wasn't to detain them.

"Through out those four years, we were sent on missions every so often. It was the academies way of easing us into the life of huntsman. As the years went on, the number and danger level of the missions increased. In first year it was simple shadow or retrieval missions, usually lasting a few hours. Two days at the most. Second year upped the ante a bit; we had escort and Grimm clearing missions that often lasted more than a week. They were dangerous, but not overtly so."

Jaune was listening attentivly. Despite his apprehension at hearing what he suspected to be a story he _really _didn't want to hear, the man's previously mentioned flair for story telling had him curious.

"Third year was when the shit hit the fan," Mr. Brunt said quietly, a dark look passing over his face as his lips were pressed into a thin line.

"My team and two others took on a month long mission to guard a town alongside the regular huntsman rotation. The town was a bit bigger than this one, and in an area that had a greater Grimm presence. We were warned when we took the mission that it would be dangerous, but we more or less waved it off. We were all young, strong warriors who had completed our previous missions with flying colors, we didn't think we would come across anything we couldn't handle."

He sighed, his eyes full of regret.

"Three weeks in and we'd had a few encounters with the creatures. A few packs of Beowolves, some Ursai and several other species. Like we'd suspected, nothing we couldn't handle."

He paused again, before continuing. Despite himself, Jaune was at the edge of his seat.

"At first we weren't sure what was happening. I don't know about the others, but I at first thought a massive cloud had passed in front of the sun. That made no sense though, because the sky was a clear blue. I looked to the others that were nearby and they also looked confused. For seven seconds, we all froze and tried to work out why the forest surrounding the town had suddenly gotten darker, and why the black shadows seemed so threatening. It was if night had fallen, but it was still day."

His voice took on a faraway tone, as if recounting something he couldn't believe was real.

"It was like a dam wall bursting. In an instant, hundreds upon hundereds of black bodies were racing towards us like a tidal wave. It was terrifying, looking at what seemed to be every single Grimm in creation racing towards you. We couldn't do anything but stare as we tried comprehend what we were seeing. For what seemed to be minutes, we stood there frozen and facing a nightmare."

"And then our leader gave us orders," his dull eyes suddenly sharpened as he stared intensely at Jaune, who didn't say anything.

"Can you guess what those orders were?" He asked. For some reason Jaune felt like Mr. Brunt was accusing him.

He slowly shook his head. Before, he would have guessed that the orders were to fight the creatures and defend the town. Now, he had a feeling that that answer was _very _wrong.

_**"Run,"** _he growled_. _

Jaune's widened as terror flooded his system.

**Ping**

**Bloodlust detec-**

**_"Run. Run and don't _fucking_ look back. Grab as many citizens as you can, warn as many people as possible and get them to the bullheads. Go."_**

Mr. Brunt didn't shout, but his bloodlust-laden voice filled the classroom, the very air trembling. It seemed to Jaune a thousand times more potent then Ms. Clemens, yet it had no target. He could tell it wasn't directed at him, yet he was shaking nonetheless. He was terrified of the man before him.

"We didn't question it, we didn't hesitate, we turned around and ran screaming and shouting for people to drop what they had in their hands and abandon their homes," he continued, thankfully in a normal voice. Jaune was not less scared.

"Three of us died before we reached the edge of the town, one of them my own teammate. Just like that, in an instant, dead. I had gone from being young and invincible to three friends down in less than a minute," he said, fixing Jaune with an intense look that made him shiver.

"And I didn't care."

Jaune's mouth dropped open in horrified shock at the man's callous statement.

"I didn't care that I'd just lost two friends and a sister, I couldn't. Fear overrode everything; all I cared about was getting away from the monsters that were chasing me. I remember running. I remember pulling shocked-senseless people behind me until they started running too. I remember picking up crying children and running with them in my arms."

His stare bored a hole into Jaune's horrified eyes. He was unable to look away. His mind was stalling like an old engine, trying and failing to turn over.

"I remember hearing people screaming and dying behind me, some calling out for help. And not once did I look back."

For a few seconds he was unmoving. He sat still and frozen like a statue in a cemetery.

"Somehow I made it to the bullheads in one piece and began frantically helping people board them. I later learned that another two of my friends were killed trying to get there. The remainder of our forces held back the swarm while people piled onto the airships until they were full to the absolute limit. And there were still more people. The pilots took off, promising to return once they had dropped the people on board off at the nearest settlement."

Mr. Brunt went quite again, before speaking directly to Jaune, startling him.

"Do you know how terrifying it is to hear that? That you're going to be left in the middle of a sea of death, with blood and bodies littering the street around you? You go into shock, your consciousness retreating inward until you're barely aware of the world around you. You just _know _that you're going to die."

"One of the senior huntsman snapped me out of my daze, and we managed to lead the few civilians that were still alive to an abandoned building. We barricaded the doors and sat inside for hours, listening to the people outside die and the Grimm feast and howl. We just sat there silently, waiting and praying for the bullheads to return."

By this time Jaune was pale and feeling sick. Of its own volition, his mind had begun to picture the scenes that his teacher was describing in vivid detail.

"They did eventually come, but they couldn't land anywhere near us. By that time we were the only ones left in the town and the negativity we were exuding had caused the Grimm to surround the building for nearly three hundered feet and pile on top of one another to get at us. We listened as they snapped and barked and roared at each other, all of them wanting to devour us."

"Luckily, we had a radio and were able to co-ordinate a plan with the pilots. They would open fire on the Grimm around the back entrance and clear a path for us to the nearest possible landing space. All we had to do was run and get there."

"It worked almost perfectly," Mr. Brunt murmured, almost to himself. "The pilots let rip with gatlings and cut a path through the horde for us. We sprinted through those doors, us huntsman forming a protective ring around the civilians. It was our job to protect them, to make sure that any creature that got near them would have to kill us first. I was guarding the rear, along with one of the professional huntsman. We had a near-straight run, picking off any of the Grimm that had survived the mini-guns. The ones on the other side of the building had figured out we were on the move by this point, and had begun chasing us, but it looked like we would make it."

The man seemed to sink into his chair and his eyes closed. Jaune stared at him and waited, knowing he wasn't finished.

Eventually, Mr. Brunt's eyes opened and he resumed, his voice dead. "At the last second, a Goliath managed to snag the huntsman I was working with. It grabbed him with its trunk and tossed him back. The persuing Grimm swarmed him, tearing him open and ripping him to shreds. He screamed to me for help, I looked back and only felt a single thing."

He looked up into Jaune's eyes, making sure he had eye contact before speaking again.

"Relief."

If Jaune had been shocked about him saying he hadn't cared when his friends had been killed, this just about knocked the breath out of him.

"I was relieved that a comrade, someone who I had literally fought beside and was now begging for my help, was dying. Because as the Grimm were eating him alive, we had enough time to board the bullheads and fly away. His horrible death had given me and the other survivors a chance to live, and I was grateful for it. We flew away and I haven't forgiven myself since."

The room was silent. Jaune couldn't speak, he didn't know what to say. Mr. Brunt was looking at him expectantly, he had to say something. What could he possibly say to that?

The silence prevailed as a shell-shocked boy tried to come to terms with what he'd just been told. Mr. Brunt had just taken all of his hopes, dreams and fantasies, pissed on them and then sat them on fire.

His mouth moved up and down as he tried to formulate a response to the nightmare he'd just been exposed to.

"That's... almost exactly what happened to my Great-grandfather," Jaune suddenly realized. The thought came out of nowhere and didn't seem like an appropriate response to Mr. Brunt's story, but it was the only thing his brain could come up with.

"Aye, they are quite similar," the man nodded, seemingly not minding the comment.

"They're almost exactly the same story, but..." Jaune trailed off.

"But one was a bedtime story for a little boy and the other was the truth," Mr. Brunt finished for him, quite accurately guessing what he was feeling. "Let me tell you something kid; your grand-pappy was undoubtedly a hero, he's practically a saint in Nordain; but he was perhaps the worst huntsman I have ever heard of."

Jaune's head snapped up, not believing what he was hearing. His mouth began forming words, coming to his ancestors defense out of instinct.

"Don't you dare contradict me, Arc," Mr. Brunt growled, his dark, brown eyes glinting threateningly.

Jaune's mouth closed with an audible click.

"The man was a bloody lieutenant of the Valitian army, he had more than enough influence that he could have used to evacuate Nordain and he didn't use it."

"But he did!" Jaune protested. "He tried that and they said no!"

"He tried asking for reinforcements," the man corrected. "He wanted to fight the Grimm, not evacuate the people. His superiors refused him and they were bloody right to! The town was too small and the horde too big. To combat that many Grimm, they would have had to deploy men they just couldn't afford to spare during wartime."

That didn't seem right to Jaune, leaving a whole town and it's people defenseless because they couldn't spare the resources. It didn't sit well with him... but at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to condemn what seemed to be a logical order.

"Even if his superiors had been right bastards and denied his request for a couple of bullheads to evacuate Nordain, going and taking on the entire horde like he did was just freaking stupid," Mr. Brunt went on. "He and a handful of mediocre huntsman were not nearly enough to defend that town, even with the walls forming a choke point. More people died that day than were saved. All of them would have lived if he'd spent those few hours beforehand evacuating everybody instead of preparing to fight them."

Jaune again tried to defend his hero, but found there wasn't anything he could think of to say. If it were anyone else telling this, he'd probably just dismiss them, if for no other reason than what they were saying was inconvenient; but this was probably the only person he knew whose words he couldn't just ignore. Mr. Brunt knew what he was talking about.

"There is no glory, no honor and no heroes amongst huntsman," the man continued. "There are only warriors with a single job: make sure people stay alive. If that means running away, so be it."

It was like his words had scooped out something precious inside of Jaune, leaving him hollow. A dream that had survived near a decade of scorn and no support had just been effectively dismantled inside of a ten minute conversation. He was reeling, staggering around inside his own head desperately looking for something to grab ahold of. He found nothing.

"...H-he was my hero. All I've ever wanted was to be like him," he whispered.

"You can either aspire to be a huntsman, or you aspire to be like him, but you can't be both," Mr. Brunt said, not unkindly. He then sighed and gave Jaune an appraising look. "Kid, are you sure you're not just doing this to spite your father?"

Jaune blinked in surprise. _'What?'_

"What?"

"Are you sure your desire to be a huntsman isn't just some big act of defiance? From what you've said, it seems your old man has been less than supportive, and I'm just wondering if you've maybe chased the dream anyway just to-"

"No!" Exclaimed Jaune, realising what his teacher was trying to say. "No, that's not it."

He took a shaky breath. It wasn't spite, or defiance that drove him. What drove him was a desire. He didn't know what for, but he knew it wasn't simple pettiness.

"Right now, I'm not certain about a lot of things, but I'm certain about that."

Mr. Brunt eyed him carefully, as if looking for something. Finally, he nodded.

"I'm not saying becoming a huntsman is impossible for you kid, but if you want it you're going to have to haul ass and forget everything you think you know about being a huntsman. In fact, I'll even help you."

Despite how low his spirits had just been taken, Jaune felt a small glimmer of hope, though it was tempered by a large amount of doubt.

"There's currently a guy on Shion's gaurd roster that owes me a favor. He's here for the next two years, so I can get him to take you on as an apprentice," the man said.

Jaune's eyes widened. An apprenticeship with an actual huntsman? That was incredible! That, combined with the Gamer's Reality, just might get him up to huntsman standards in time. It was almost too good to be true!

"But I have conditions," Mr. Brunt continued.

_'Fucking jinxed it.'_

"First," he started, "before I arrange anything with him, I want you to think about what I've said. I want you to think long and hard about the reality of what you want to do. I want you to go and research all of the settlements and people that we've lost to the Grimm. You will be shown destruction, death and heartbreak, and I want you to take a good long look at it and ask yourself if that's really what you want to be responsible for."

His words sobered Jaune right up. Any feelings of hope or excitement that the possible apprenticeship had evoked were squashed as he was reminded of the story he was just told.

Mr. Brunt went on. "Secondly, if you decide that the answer is yes, I want a reason why. I want to see a good, honest to Oum answer as to why the hell you'd want to get involved with that life. If I'm not satisfied, I'm not arranging squat."

Jaune nodded to show he understood. After all he'd just been told, he also wanted a reason as to why he still thought being a huntsman was the right decision.

"And last of all, if you do decide that yes, you do want to be a huntsman, _and_ you provide a suitable reason why, then I expect you to freaking _run yourself into the ground_ trying to get to where you should be. I expect your grades to skyrocket and your various body fluids to stain the ground. If I don't see that happening, or your mentor reports no progress or you slack off, then I'll tell him to drop you there and then. If you want to be a huntsman you're going to bloody well _work_ for it, understood?"

**Ping! Quest Alert!**

**Crossroads**

**Quest Obectives: Convince Alford Brunt to set up an apprenticeship with a huntsman for you.**

**Completion Rewards: 1000 EXP, 500 Lien, 2 points, apprenticeship.**

**Failure Penalties: Meaningless life, chronic depression, existential crisis, possible suicide.**

Again, there was no option to decline the mission. It had automatically been accepted.

Jaune nodded slowly. This was... just a little too much. His world view had been shattered too many times today. His life had become a video game, he'd come to realize that his life's dream was a hollow facade of what he'd thought it was, and what was left of it was hanging by a thread. So much had happened in so little time. He... he needed to go home and process everything.

Mr. Brunt seemed to sense that the boy was at the edge of a complete shut down. His features softened and he looked at him with a small amount of pity.

"Get some rest once you get home Jaune," he said.

Jaune slowly got up and walked towards the door, as if in a trance. He had a lot to think about.

**AN: A little sobering I think. Again, sorry for the wait, but it turns out I take writing just a bit too seriously and try to make every chapter as perfect as possible. This will probably be the standard interval between chapters.**

**So I know I said there would be some action this chapter, but again, I ended up going overboard on the word count and cut the chapter short. But I _promise _there will be action next chapter. Jaune gets to go dungeon diving.**

**Again, if you guys have any ideas for Skills, loot enemies or plot points, let me know. I'd love to hear some ideas.**

**Cheers.**

**PS. There might be a mistake in the Pain Tolerance skill description. There's meant to be a between 0.5 and 1. I've tried to correct it but it doesn't seem to want to stick. Same deal with a paragraph break.**


	4. Dungeon Diving for Dummies

**AN**: **Ladies and Gentlemen, this is truly a momentous occasion, for in the wake of posting my third chapter, I received my first ever flame! From a _guest reader _no less! How cool is that!? **

**And so, it is with great pleasure that I dedicate the Jackass of the Month award to whomever _the fuck _wrote a review under the name of 'Cool Anon'. Not only that, but you also win the Douchiest Psuedonym award. Your parents must be so proud, you really deserve it! :)**

**PS. Really? 'Cool Anon' is what you went for?**

Dungeon Diving for Dummies

A high-pitched squeal filled the air as the rail car pulled into Nordain's station. The air was hazy with afternoon sunlight and the previously silent platform was brought to life as noisily chattering teenagers poured out of the opening doors.

Jaune lifted his head from where it had been resting against the cool glass window with a sigh before standing and hefting his bag up onto his back. He joined the throng of similarly dressed students as they piled off of the rail car, ignoring the concerned and annoyed look Saphron was shooting at his back. He wasn't interested in sating her curiosity, though he did feel bad for making her worry.

It was now Wednesday, two days after he'd had his world irrevocably changed by the Gamer's reality, and two days since Mr. Brunt had pulled the metaphorical rug out from under his feet. In those two days, he'd yet to find the strength to get up off his metaphorical ass.

He'd wondered through the rest of that Monday in a daze, unable to really concentrate on anything other than that fifteen minute conversation. It had left his mind in turmoil; parts of it had drifted through his head, prompting his brain to conjure up questions about himself and his desires, as well as horrific scenes from the story his teacher had told him. For someone who had a wild and vivid imagination, the entire experience proved disturbing enough to keep him subdued and withdrawn for the rest of the day.

His family, bless their hearts, had quickly caught on to the fact that something was wrong. Predictably, the first to notice was Saffron. It had taken five seconds of silence after the two had met up for her to start asking what was wrong. He hadn't told her about the talk, it was something that concerned him and only him. As much as he loved his family, in this matter, his decision had to be one hundred percent his own, unaffected by anyone else's opinions - which was exactly what they would start voicing if they knew.

So he stayed silent.

It hadn't taken the Triplets long to notice either. Upon meeting them at Shion's rail station, their brows had furrowed almost immediately. They had made concerned queries, and shot Saffron questioning glances when they were left unanswered. Even Macie, the adorable little tot, had eventually asked him why he was sad, her wide, violet eyes looking into his worriedly. That had been what eventually coaxed a smile out of Jaune. How could he be sad when he was surrounded by such love and cuteness?

Even if his mood did improve slightly, he had continued to mull over his sudden early-life crisis since then. Every member of his family had confronted him at some point during that period, trying to figure out what was bothering him. His mother, who had been informed about the incident with Cord and assumed that was the reason, had seriously threatened to go knocking at his door with her wooden spoon in hand. Jaune knew from his younger days that his mother with a wooden spoon was not a light punishment.

After preventing that massacre, his _father_ of all people had approached him. It was awkward as hell; neither of them could look each other in the eye for more than a second and conversation came haltingly. Jaune suspected the muscled man had been pushed into talking to him by his mom, but as they spoke he saw his dad start to develop genuine concern for him. The man's fatherly instincts had begun to over-ride his awkwardness at seeing his son's non-hostile, unaggressive and subdued demeanor. He had gotten used to those elements underlying their interactions and their sudden disappearance disturbed him.

Despite the parents' best efforts, they hadn't managed to get Jaune to tell them what was wrong.

Claire did though, but she hadn't bothered asking.

After dinner, Jaune had gone up to his room, pulled out his laptop and begun searching for old news articles and pictures of Grimm invasions. There was an unsettling abundance of both.

Most of the pictures showed the aftermath of the invasions. Burnt and broken structures, twisted, teary expressions of grief on the faces of evacuee's as they looked upon all they had lost... and funerals.

Pictures of crying children being held by now single parents as they watched their loved ones being lowered into the ground. The one that hit Jaune the hardest was an image of a shattered looking couple, their grief-stricken gaze fixed upon three coffins, all of them far too small.

The newspaper articles just added heart-wrenching context to equally terrible images.

While these made up the majority of what Jaune had found, there were also images and footage taken during the actual invasions. He'd had to surf the darker parts of the internet before he'd found them. Where the 'aftermath' photos were heartbreaking, these were... nightmarish. Obscene. Sickening. Many of the pictures featured Grimm literally tearing people apart, some where body parts and large pools of blood covered the ground.

Jaune had felt his stomach churn violently upon seeing those pictures. The knowledge that these had been real people with real, painful deaths carried a heavy weight with it. They weren't actors in some R-rated movie. Those weren't special effects. It was real.

He'd looked through those images and read over those stories for three hours, and by that time he'd fully understood what his teacher had been saying. Did he really want to be responsible for all _this_? Because that's what the huntsman were: Responsible. They hadn't caused the invasions, and they had certainly tried to stop them, even giving their lives, but in the end, all of the death and grief would fall on the shoulders of the ones whose job was to protect. It would be put there by the people... or by themselves.

Could he bear that? If it were his responsibility to safe guard people and he failed, could he live with himself? He didn't know.

He also didn't know if he could live with himself if he didn't at least try.

What if he actually did give up on being a huntsman? What if he let the Gamer's Reality go to waste and he became an accountant or something? What if he did that and ended up sitting in some office in front of some crappy computer screen, safe, while out on the borderlands people died because there was just one less person to protect them?

The thought made him almost as uncomfortable as his research did.

Jaune was so busy exploring deep, dark and uncharted parts of his mind that he failed to react when Claire burst through his door. The young woman had fully intended to muscle the reason for his behavior out of him, but stopped when she saw what was on his computer screen. Her bewildered gaze flicked from his startled expression to his laptop several times, trying to make sense of why her little brother was looking at scenes of death and destruction. The confusion became realization once she saw what he'd typed into the search bar.

**Grimm invasions**

"Oh," she had said, her face softening and showing understanding. Claire wasn't stupid; she knew of her brother's dreams and how badly he wanted them. So now seeing him studying the ugly reality, in conjunction with his sudden mood shift, she put two and two together. While she didn't know the details, she knew what must have happened - Jaune had had his eyes opened.

Seeing that his elder sister had at least somewhat figured it out, he opened his mouth to start pleading her to keep it secret.

"I won't tell anyone," she said before he could speak. She gave him a soft smile before backing out of the room and closing the door gently, a stark contrast to when she had barged into it with guns blazing. Jaune had stared at the closed door for a few moments, before shaking his head and deciding that he'd had enough of that day. Shutting down his computer, he'd gone to sleep.

The next day and today had passed by quickly for him. Sleep had served to settle his mind some, making it less chaotic. Questions and indecision had still plagued him, but less so than before. He'd actually managed to pay attention in some of his classes, and had surprisingly been rewarded with INT points, managing to gain three in total. The fact that his INT score was on par with a few of his school mates raised his spirits a little.

Still, even now he couldn't quite shake the feeling of melancholy. He still went through news articles and footage of Grimm Invasions each night, not quite knowing the reason why. He got the feeling that he had missed something, that there was still something that he needed to see, and for the life of him he couldn't find it damnit! It had been two days of near constant contemplation, wake-up calls and soul searching and he was still sitting smack-dab in the middle of the fucking fence! It was emotionally draining and it irritated him to no end!

Logically, Jaune knew that life-defining choices like these probably weren't made in two days, but each day that ended inconclusively added to his anxiety. He'd wasted enough of his life doing nothing, he didn't want to waste any more than necessary, especially if he did decide he wanted to become a huntsman.

Now, walking up the path to the front gates of the Arc Manor, Jaune stopped and stared at the space in front of him expectantly.

**Ping**

**Hint: There is dungeon nearby. Explore to find the entrance!**

This was the third time this message had appeared in front of Jaune. It had first appeared when he'd approached his home after school on Monday. He'd stared at it for a while, not quite sure what to do with the information. Normally it would have sent him into a frenzied search for the entrance, but at that time it was the last thing he wanted to do. He was still reeling from the numerous world-view-shattering relevations he had made that day, he didn't even remotely feel up to doing anything huntsman-like until he'd sorted out the mess that was his mind and made a decision.

He had dismissed it, and done the same the next day, still not feeling ready.

But now, he was seriously considering it. He'd organized his thoughts, and more or less come to terms with what he'd been told, but his frustration at his indecision was burning strong. For two days he'd done nothing but depress himself and worry his family, and he was no closer to a decision for it.

_'Sitting around thinking about it hasn't worked," _thought Jaune as his eyes gained an intensity that they had previously lacked. _'Maybe it's time I take action, see for myself if I have what it takes. A trial by fire.'_

**Ping! Quest Alert!**

**An Ominous Abyss Marks the Spot**

**Quest Objectives: Search for and locate the entrance to the nearby dungeon.**

**Bonus Objective: Locate the entrance within 30 minutes.**

**Completion Reward: 300 EXP, 3 points, ?**

**Bonus Objective Reward: 50 EXP, ?**

**Failure Penalties: Inability to use the dungeon.**

**Accept Y/N**

That pretty much decided it - if he got a quest that gave out rewards just for finding the dungeon's entrance then there was no way he wasn't going to accept it. Quickly pressing 'Yes', he turned around to face the small group his sisters had made, which was trailing a little ways behind him.

"Hey Saf!" He called out.

Saffron looked up, a little surprise showing on her face. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet lately, refusing to say more than a few words at a time. Had something changed?

"Yeah?" She asked.

Jaune slung his bag off his back and held it out to her.

"Could you take this up to the house for me?" He asked. "I want to go and walk around for a bit, clear my head."

She took the bag hesitantly, a puzzled frown on her face. Jaune was a little anxious on the inside; unless the WiFi or electricity was off, he'd never been one to spend much time outdoors. Going out for a walk was out of character for him, but hopefully not so much that it was questioned.

"A walk?"

"Yeah," said Jaune, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "There's a lot that's been happening lately, and honestly I'm a bit overwhelmed. I think some fresh air and space would do me good."

Saffron regarded him for a few moments before nodding her head.

"Why don't I come with?" she suggested. "We could spend some time together, maybe chat about stuff."

Jaune internally winced at the hopeful tone in her voice and the not so subtle hint that she wanted to talk about what had been going on with him.

_'Uh... No.'_

"Thanks Saf, but I'd like to just be by myself for awhile," he told her with a slightly uneasy smile.

She looked at him for a few moments, biting her lip and giving him a concerned gaze.

_'Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it,' _Jaune pleaded in his head as she silently considered him.

"Fine," she finally said, a note of reluctance in her voice. Maybe some time to himself was what he needed to snap out of whatever funk he was in. "But don't stay out too long, and for Oums sake don't go outside the walls, Jaune!" She warned sternly.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief.

"I promise I won't. I'll be back in less than an hour," he promised.

If it was possible to find the entrance in thirty minutes, than in the worst case scenario it probably wouldn't take him more than an hour to find it. Speaking of...

Jaune suddenly took notice of a new addition to his HUD. At the top of his vision was a timer.

**28:37**

**28:36**

**28:35**

His eyes widened and he had to stop himself from cussing out loud.

_'Shit! It must have started when I accepted the mission. I can't waste anymore time!'_

While Jaune wasn't terribly excited by the prospect of 50 EXP, it was something and he was a perfectionist. Also, he was curious as to what that question mark could be.

"I'm going to head off now," he said, trying not to sound like he was in a rush and not quite succeeding. He picked a random direction and began walking before any objections could be raised, wanting to get moving as quickly as possible.

Saffron's frown deepened, but she didn't say anything.

"Be careful Jaune! And don't be long!" She shouted at his quickly shrinking back, sighing to herself when he simply raised a hand above his head to show he'd heard her.

Huffing, she tossed his bag to one of the triplets, who had been watching the entire exchange silently with bemused expressions on their faces. The throw caught Lily by surprise and she nearly fell due to the unexpected weight.

"Hey! Why do I have to carry it!?" She whined.

"Because I'm bigger than you, half-pint."

Lily glared at her back, but didn't say anything.

**\- Line Break -**

Jaune frowned at his mini-map the way a confused pet owner would frown at their dog that wouldn't stop barking at the cupboard door. It hadn't taken him long after he had ditched his sisters that he noticed something strange going on with his mini-map.

It was pulsing; every few seconds the face of it would flash blue. Since when had it done that?

Jaune continued frowning at it for a bit before disregarding it. He could figure out what was up with it later, for now he should focus on beating the timer.

**Background music activated: A-Hunting We Will Go.**

**25:39**

Jaune rolled his eyes as the old nursery rhyme began playing in his ears as he took off jogging. There were two possible places he could start looking: the town itself, or the forest surrounding it. Of the two places, he thought that the one that housed man-eating creatures made of darkness was the most likely place to find something like a dungeon.

And while there were a few people like Ms. Clemen living in Nordain, Jaune decided the better choice would be the forest. Problem with that was there was much more forest than there was town, so Jaune had just decided to head to the section of the walls that he was closest to - away from the main gate of course. He didn't want anyone questioning why he was heading out of the town in his school uniform.

Unfortunately that was still some way away.

**20:07**

Jaune stopped and doubled over, using his knees as support. He was panting and sweat poured down his flushed face.

_'Oum above, am I really this unfit? Huntsman training or not, after this I really need to start exercising.'_

He'd only been jogging, and not for very long either. He really shouldn't be this out of shape. Straightening up and facing the sky, he took several deep breaths. He felt his heart rate gradually begin to slow back down.

**Ping**

**Due to prolonged strenuous activity, you gain 1 VIT.**

Jaune nodded at seeing the notification. Getting a point was always good.

His eyes suddenly flicked to the side, honing in on something he'd seen flicker in his peripherals. It was his mini-map, still flashing. Though it was much faster than before; where it had previously flashed every few seconds, it was now going off like a car indicator.

Jaune shot it a perplexed look, wondering why it had sped up. Was it because he had less time? Did it flash more the less time he had?

**19:38**

He shook his head. It didn't matter, he had to get moving. Taking one last deep breath, he resumed jogging, albeit much slower than when he started.

**18:22**

He stole another glance at the mini-map, frowning.

The flashing had changed again, this time slowing down. It's fluctuations bothered him. What did it mean? He continued watching it as he ran, and with every pulse the feeling that he was missing something grew stronger.

It couldn't be connected to the timer, he had even less time now than he did before. So what could possibly cause it to change-

"You fucking idiot!"

Jaune skidded to a halt and held his head in his hands, continuing to cuss himself out in frustration. Balling his fists he gently knocked them against his head, before spinning around and running full-pelt in the opposite direction, desperately trying to make up for lost time.

Jaune now knew exactly what the flashing meant. He should have realized what it was the second he had seen it, but he'd been in too much of a hurry to find the dungeon.

Realistically, there was too much ground to cover. Even if the entrance was within Nordain's walls, it wasn't possible to find it within half an hour, it was simply too big of an area. And so the Gamer's Reality had given him something to help.

A tracker.

Many games used them. Missions that required the player to find a hidden object or location made use of something flashing or beeping to indicate in what direction and how far away it was, like a game of Hot or Cold turned up to eleven. The more the tracker flashed, the closer he was to what he was looking for.

He had been running in the opposite direction for some time now.

Jaune pushed himself, his feet thudding against the ground. He kept a watchful eye on his mini-map and made adjustments to his course whenever the pluses started to slow. Sure enough, as time passed, the pulses steadily increased in frequency.

He kept running, heaving for breath and his shirt soaked through with sweat. He really should have changed out of his uniform.

**12:14**

His mini-map was now flashing like a strobe light, but Jaune paid no attention to it. He had worked out where the tracker was taking him a minute ago.

The Arc Manor had been built just next to one of the main entrances to the town, at the base of a hill. Jaune had run around this hill to get to the section of the wall located in a small valley on the other side of it, but was now running further past that point, directly toward the old quarry.

Nordain used to export rock and gravel as construction material, which they had mined from the quarry he was now heading towards. It was also where the stone used to build Jaune's home had come from. It had been good source of income for the community and many (if not all) of the citizens had been involved in the industry in some way.

Then some twenty years ago, everything had ground to a halt once they had hit a streak of bad luck. Equipment had failed, vehicles had unexplainably broken down and conditions quickly became dangerous. Many of the men were superstitious and talk of the quarry being haunted quickly started to spread. Costs mounted and sales dropped. The negativity on the site began to rise and as a result, had drawn Grimm to the area.

Instead of closing down the business, the mayor had surprisingly made the expensive decision to extend the walls around the quarry, bringing it into Nordains borders. While this did offer protection from the Grimm, things continued to go wrong.

What finally forced the mayor to call the operation off was the abrupt deaths of numerous miners. While it wasn't uncommon to lose a few people a year to accidents, the sudden slew of cave-ins, mishandled explosives and lethal equipment failures brought about an end to Nordains biggest industry.

The site was declared a danger zone and had been abandoned ever since, the workers not even bothering to salvage whatever equipment was left. Jaune and his sisters had been warned numerous times to stay away from the place, as had the rest of Nordain's youth.

_'Not like that's going to stop me or anything,' _he thought as he finally stumbled to a stop in front of a rusting chain-link fence that had hazard signs plastered all over it.

**9:48**

Once more doubled over and wheezing for air, Jaune took a glance at his mini-map. It had ceased flashing; instead he could see that he was now standing at the edge of a large, highlighted blue circle that extended out into oblivion past the edges the mini-map. The dungeon was definitely in there, somewhere inside of that blue circle he assumed. That wasn't a small area; he had to move quickly.

Still gasping, he staggered over to the fence and barely managed to haul himself over it, falling in a graceless heap on the other side.

**Ping**

**Due to prolonged strenuous activity, you gain 1 VIT.**

Jaune ignored and dismissed it, before slowly rising with a groan. Looking up, he took in the quarry for the first time.

To his right were a group of warehouses that formed an L-shape around an area littered with masses of rusted metal that he eventually recognized as machinery. Large cables and support beams held aloft long conveyor belts that emerged from the warehouses, mountains of dark gravel piled beneath their ends.

_'Those must have been the crushers,' _he noted.

He turned his attention away from the veritable junkyard; it wasn't covered by the blue circle on the mini-map. Instead he began slowly jogging/staggering over to the actual quarry, an ugly, jagged hole that had been blasted and cut into the ground. It was as if some gargantuan being had come along and scooped the earth out with its hand. The hole was big enough to fit three Arc Manors side by side, with another three resting on top.

Brown top-soil lined the edge of the pit, slowly giving way to darker bedrock as Jaune's gaze traveled to the bottom. A wide dirt road wound around the side of it, giving it a conical shape, the pit covering less area the deeper it went.

Jaune again looked to his mini-map and grimaced; all but a small portion of the blue search area covered the quarry. That meant that the most likely place to find the dungeon would be in there, and he'd bet his balls that it was right at the bottom.

**7:50**

He sighed.

_'More running.'_

The run down to the bottom turned out to be comparatively easy. The downward slope, combined with the pressure of an increasingly short time limit, allowed Jaune to reach the bottom in good time.

**1:34**

...More or less.

Panting heavily, sweat shining on his face, Jaune frantically looked around. There honestly wasn't a lot of space he needed to search, the bottom was probably only two or three times the size of his bedroom. Loose rocks littered the ground, ranging from apple-sized stones to boulders the size of cars. This particular topography had the unfortunate side effect of creating a maze-like obstacle course, hindering Jaune's efforts quite significantly.

But not so much that he didn't find it.

Cursing as he tripped over a stray pick-axe (there were a few rusting tools laying about), Jaune hurried around one of the larger boulders and came face to face with the dungeon entrance.

**0:28**

**Ping!**

**Congratulations! You have found the entrance to the Crookback Warrens!**

**Ping!**

**'An Ominous Abyss Marks the Spot' -completed!**

**You receive:**

**\- 300 EXP**

**\- 3 Points**

**\- Skill book: Dash**

**Bonus Objective -completed!**

**You receive:**

**\- 50 EXP**

**\- Toughened Leather Cuirass**

A massive grin split Jaune's face. The skill book was a damn godsend, and seeing what the surprise reward for the bonus objective was made his sweat bath worth it. He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought it was some sort of armor, which was a good thing considering he had just found a dungeon.

**Ping**

**You have leveled up.**

**Ping**

**Achievement 'Dungeon Dash' completed. You receive the title 'Penny Pincher'.**

Jaune's grin widened. This just kept getting better and better! He quickly called up his menu.

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15 **

**Title: 'Opportunist'**

**Class/es: NA**

**Level 3 (50/900 EXP)**

**Health: 675/675 (3%/min)**

**Mana: 460/460 (3%/min)**

**Aura: NA**

**Stats:**

**STR - 9**

**VIT - 11**

**DEX - 9**

**INT - 15**

**WIS - 13**

**LUK - 7**

**Points - 8**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune's dream of being a huntsman has been thrown into doubt after being compared to its harsh reality. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**He is currently eager to examine his rewards.**

Jaune touched his new title, wanting to see what bonuses (if any) it gave him.

**Opportunist**

**5% more money gained from loot pick-ups.**

_'Awesome,' _thought Jaune. In regards to money, five percent wasn't something to turn your nose up at. The more you had, the better. Out of curiosity, he switched to the 'Achievements' page to check out 'Dungeon Dash'.

**Dungeon Dash**

**You found a dungeon within 30 min of searching.**

**Reward: Title 'Opportunist'**

_'So it was the same as the bonus objective then,' _mused Jaune. Curiosity satisfied, he eagerly switched to his inventory to check out the things he was most excited about, namely the skill book and what he strongly suspected was a piece of armor.

Scrolling past numerous items he had stored in his inventory over the past few days (pens, a few books, a pocket knife, some string, a magnifying glass, a lighter, some matches... *cough magazines *cough. Anything he thought would be useful really) until he he found what he was looking for.

Reaching into the screen, he pulled out the Toughened Leather Cuirass, which was indeed a piece of armor. In Jaune's hands was a stiff piece of dark leather that resembled a vest; it was obviously designed to be worn around the torso. The breast plate seemed to have multiple layers of rigid leather sewn on top of one another to a softer, more pliable base. These multi-layered parts had been positioned over the pectorals, solar plexus and abdominals, while the sides, arm and neck holes were surrounded solely by the soft base. The back side of the cuirass was similarly structured.

The design was similar to that of a buttoned shirt. Straps and buckles lined the opening on the front of the breast plate, the dull brass providing the only respite from the dark brown color of the piece.

Jaune eyed it critically. He was... not impressed. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but the cuirass fell short of it. The material _was_ rigid, and it definitely gave the impression of being tough, but Jaune doubted it would provided much protection. He could easily bend the most heavily armored parts of it, and the thickness left much to be desired. This wasn't what he'd hoped would it be.

At the most, it could probably protect him from a knife slash, but he doubted it was stab proof. A sword or bullet was out of the question, if he was hit with something like that then he was fucked, hardened cow hide or no.

Frowning at the lackluster equipment, Jaune Observed it.

**Toughened Leather Cuirass (D) **

**A style of armor that dates back to the first of humanity's conflicts with the creatures of Grimm, leather armor was a popular alternative to heavy, restrictive and expensive steel armor. Made from boiled leather that has been moulded and hardened with a strong resin, this style of armor provides minor protection to the wearer. It has long since fallen out of use due to the development of superior technology.**

**Defense: 25**

**Durability: 100%**

A notification popped up to the right of the Observe screen, with an arrow pointing to the odd letter beside the name.

**Ping!**

**Hint: Certain items are better than others, being either more powerful or of better quality. An item's strength and effectiveness is indicated by the letter next to their names.**

**E - Poor**

**D - Average**

**C - Uncommon**

**B - Rare**

**A - Unique**

_'Yeah, so it's not the best,' _he thought, looking back to the 'D' on the screen, and then to its defense.

Jaune's lips twisted in disappointment as he stored the cuirass back in his inventory. He could only hope that whatever he would face in the dungeon had really shitty weaponry.

_'Oh well.'_

Grin suddenly returning, he took out the item that he was most excited about, the one he had purposely saved for last.

Upon pulling out a small, plain-cover book the size of his palm with the word 'Dash' stamped on the front, a new notification popped up.

**You have obtained a skill book. Would you like to learn 'Dash'? ****Y/N**

Hella-fucking-yeah he wanted to learn Dash!

Not hesitating for a second, Jaune pressed 'Yes'. The book lost the slight glow that surrounded it, a detail that Jaune had missed up until its absence.

**Ping! New skill learned!**

**Dash Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**This high-mobility skill allows the user to perform an insanely fast displacement of themselves in any direction parallel to the ground for a short distance. It is particularaly useful for avoiding large attacks that cover bigger areas.**

**Cost: 25 MP**

**Max distance: 5 meters **

**Speed: 22 mph**

**Cool down: 5 sec**

Jaune let out a whoop. _This_ was what he was talking about! He wouldn't even need the cuirass, he could just dodge everything with this! While it wasn't something flashy like a fireball, it was sure to prove more than adequate for the dungeon. Not to mention it was badass!

Flicking through the blank pages of the ex-skill book, Jaune shrugged and tossed it back into his inventory, before closing it and turning his attention to the dungeon entrance.

'Ominous Abyss' was a bit of an over statement. Ass-Crack of the Earth would probably have been a better way to describe it. Two large boulders leant against each other at a slight angle, forming a tall, jagged fissure in the stone. The afternoon light only reached a few feet into the narrow cave before it lost the battle against the shadows.

While the pitch blackness of crack was unsettling, the effect was ultimately ruined. The particular placement of the fissure between two large, round boulders gave one the impression of spread ass cheeks, and you could only take those seriously if the word 'diarrhea' was mentioned.

Hundreds of feet below ground level, he had truly hit rock bottom.

A few hundered miles away, a wild, blonde combat academy student experienced a rather intense hot flush.

Jaune mused to himself while considering the dungeon entrance. There was no way he could enter it now. He may have just gotten an awesome skill and an okay-ish piece of armor, but he still didn't have a weapon; he couldn't very well take on whatever was in there with his fists. He needed to find something to fight with before he went in.

_'Tomorrow,' _he decided.

He couldn't wait for however long it would take to find a decent, owner-less weapon. The dungeon was right there; the trial that would test his skills, that would determine if he was good enough, was right _there_. He had to make a decision, he couldn't waste any more time.

He would have to find some sort of weapon by then. If worst came to worst, he could probably make some sort of spear out of a kitchen knife or something.

...The best option would probably be to steal a weapon from his dad's workshop.

The thought made Jaune uncomfortable, but he needed to take this as seriously as possible. He needed the best weapon he could get, and if he could find an honest-to-Oum flaming sword in his dads workshop (he could), why the hell would he opt for his mother's cheese knife?

One way or another, he'd be back here tomorrow, and he would make his decision.

Giving the Rock Bottom a final challenging stare to assert his dominance over it, he turned away to begin the trek back home, fullly intent on abusing his new skill in the process.

Lowering himself into a weird runners stance, Jaune got ready to test out Dash for the first time.

_'So do I just have to will it or-'_

The air in front of him suddenly socked him in the face with not inconsiderable force, whipping his extremities back. Adreanaline flooded his body and left it tingling. It took Jaune a split second to realize that he had dashed, and another to fall in love with the feeling. The wind rushed past his ears, his vision blurred slightly and he was vaguely aware of his legs moving at a speed they had never moved at before.

Jaune felt a sudden bubble of joyous laughter burst out of his throat. This was awesome! This was freedom! It felt like he was flyi-

A millisecond later he ran face first into one of the bigger boulders laying on the quarry floor.

**-30 HP**

His pained groan echoed up out of the humongous pit.

**\- Line Break -**

It was eleven 'o clock at night and all of Jaune's previous exuburence had died a miserable death. He lay fully clothed upon his bed, staring at his laptop with a depressed frown marring his face.

_'You can be a real dickhead sometimes, past me,' _he mumbled in his mind.

After peeling himself off the rock that he'd splattered into, Jaune had made his way back to Arc Manor, using Dash much more carefully. It had taken him a while, but he soon got used to the tunnel vision and literal gut-wrenching force that accompanied the skill. It hadn't stopped him from imprinting his facial structure into a tree trunk every now and again.

Having used Dash as often as the cool down would allow, he had fully expected to level up the skill by the time he had gotten home, but that hadn't been the case.

**Dash Lv. 1 (79.4%)**

**This high-mobility skill allows the user to perform an insanely fast displacement of themselves in any direction parallel to the ground for a short distance. It is particularaly useful for avoiding large attacks that cover bigger areas.**

**Cost: 25 MP**

**Max distance: 5 meters **

**Speed: 22 mph**

**Cool down: 5 sec**

This was probably due to the fact that halfway through the journey back, he'd run out of mana. It was at this point that Jaune was reminded of the warning in the tutorial stating that should his mana reach zero, there would be consequences.

**Your mana pool has been completely depleted. Mana regeneration rate reduced to 0% for 30 minutes.**

What that basically meant was that he'd been left mana-less for the next half hour. By the time it had started regenerating again, he had already reached Arc Manor. It had taken him just over another half-hour before his mana pool was completely restored.

That evening, Jaune's family noted a markable change in the boy. He engaged in conversation with them, he was cheerier and he showed emotions other than 'I'm-one-bad-joke-away-from-taking-a-bath-with-the-toaster'.

The happier family had eaten dinner, spent some time together, said goodnight to each other and retired for the night.

And then Jaune from two hours ago had gotten the bright idea to do his daily research.

_'Chop,' _grumbled present Jaune.

The no less disturbing images of death and heartache had taken the wind right out of his sails. He had come across an encredibly lengthy list of names of all the settlements that had been destroyed since the end of the war. Each name in the too-long list was a link to a detailed report regarding the village and how it had been invaded. It included estimated damage costs, the number and species of Grimm in the horde, casualty reports, etc.

Jaune had been making his way through this list for the past two hours and had only just started on the B's in the alphabetically ordered list.

Bordarien.

Jaune half-heartedly clicked on the name and was greeted by the same old story. People getting killed, mayhem, burning buildings and so on. He sighed as he continued to scroll past the wall of text and images.

Why did he do this to himself? When he'd first opened his PC this evening, he hadn't even considered what he was doing or how it would affect him, he'd just followed the routine he'd unconsciously established over the past three days. Today had actually been okay, and then he'd gone and crapped in his own corn flakes. He wasn't enjoying the taste.

Jaune's heart clinched slightly as an image came into view. It was a still from a bulkhead-mounted camera, taken as the aircraft had flown above the town mid-invasion. Grimm were frozen in photographic stillness, mid-pounce, mid-tear, mid-rip, or mid-kill. The image was zoomed in on a large group that had gathered at the entrance of an alley way. They were barred from entering by a single huntsman wielding a comically large bayonet attached to an automatic rifle. He was obviously injured; he leant against one of the walls for support and his right leg looked hideously mangled. Various wounds littered his body and patches of blood stained the old olive-green military jacket he wore.

His face was an image of defiance. A snarl rivaling his opponents' was fixed upon his face. His bayonet had skewerd a boarbatusk through its head, leaving its slowly dissipating body dangling in front of him like a meat-shield as bullets exploded from the gun's barrel and tore the other Grimm apart.

And behind him, cowering in his shadow, was a little girl. Her face was little more than a blurry pixel, but her huddled figure and body language clearly showed she was terrified.

Jaune had become desensitised to violence, especially over the last few days; images of gore and death barely affected him anymore. What he _was_ affected by were pictures like these. Ones in which you could clearly see someone's face twist in terror and desperation just before they died. The fact that this face belonged to a child made it infinitely worse.

Jaune's felt tears prick at the back of his eyes. That was someone's child. Someone's little girl. A beautiful life that had decades left to live. And in a few seconds she would be nothing more than various peices of meat scattered throughout that alley.

Jaune swallowed thickly. A sudden image of Macie replaced the girl, and he felt his whole body heave with panic and the urge to find his little sister and hold her close.

Breathing shakily, Jaune resumed scrolling downwards. He didn't want to look at the picture anymore. He didn't want to think of the little girl that was now dead, along with her huntsman protector.

Jaune kept on scrolling, past more chilling photos until he reached the last few pictures. He kept on scrolling until he reached an Aftermath photo.

He stopped scrolling. He froze. He stared.

For the first few seconds he felt nothing. His mind went blank. He gazed unblinkingly at a sobbing woman who held her little girl's body.

The same little girl's body.

The same _living, breathing, _little girl's body.

_'She's alive.'_

That was the first thing that Jaune comprehended. The thought had no emotion to it. It was blank, disbelieving.

He looked at the mothers face. She didn't resemble his mom in the slightest, but she had that same maternal look to her face. She was shedding tears like a burst dam. Tears of Joy.

_'She's happy.'_

That was the second thing Jaune comprehended. Amidst burnt houses, bloodstains and bodies, she was so happy she was crying. Because one person was alive, she could be happy in spite of the loss of her entire community.

He took a closer look at the girl. She was also crying, and hugging her mom in a vice grip. She wore an oversized piece of cloth that covered her entire frame. At first glance, Jaune thought it was a blanket. A shredded, blood soaked blanket. And then Jaune recognized the shape of an old olive-green military jacket.

_'He died.'_

Jaune continued to stare for a few unfeeling seconds. And then a wave of raw emotion swept through his chest with the force of a tidal wave.

He let out a sound that was halfway between a sob and a laugh. A disbelieving smile steadily grew on his face even as tears rolled down his cheeks like teardrops. He felt his chest heave in another happy/sad sound, and then another, and another. He clapped both hands over his mouth as he continued to stare at the screen, tears pouring from his eyes.

This was it. This was his answer. The reason he kept looking every night, the thing he was searching for.

One person was alive. One person was alive because there was a huntsman there who had refused to let the darkness have her. He'd given his life for one person. And the world was better off for it.

That mom got to hold her little girl again. She would get to hold her grandchildren. She would get to be at her daughters wedding. She would get to see her live.

That little girl would grow. She would get to be raised by her mom. She would be able to meet someone. She would get to have a child of her own. She would live.

Because one man had stared impossible odds in the face, said 'fuck you' and rolled the dice.

Jaune let out a final shakey breath and leant back, still smiling like a loon. _That_ was why he wanted to be a huntsman. Even if he turned out to be a terrible one, if he could save just one person, it would be enough. One more person would be alive. One more person got to be with their family. One more person would get to live.

One person. After them, one more. And another.

As long as he was alive he could save people.

He _would _save people.

Getting up off the bed, Jaune quickly put on his shoes. Hurrying to his cupboard, he grabbed the thickest jacket he had and hastily put it on.

He had his answer. He wanted to be a huntsman, and now he had reason. A fire roared inside him, cleansing his being of the last tumultuous three days. He was burning with purpose. He couldn't just sit here. He couldn't just go to sleep. He needed to _do_ something.

He needed to go to the dungeon. He needed to start training, immediately. He needed to become strong.

And right now, he needed a weapon.

**Ping! Quest Alert!**

**Stealing Steel**

**Quest Objectives: Locate and steal a weapon that does more than 150 damage without alerting anyone to your presence.**

**Completion rewards: 200 EXP, weapon, skillbook**

**Failure penalties: 3 month grounding, restlessness, failure of quest 'Crossroads'.**

**Accept Y/N**

Jaune pressed yes and his mini map immediately began pulsing with the same blue light from earlier. Jaune nodded, ran through a quick mental list of anything else he might need, and then made for the door.

He paused just before exiting, taking a moment to close his eyes and calm himself down. This was a stealth mission, he couldn't blow it because he was to excited to stay quiet; he had to focus and avoid any mistakes.

Opening the door quickly to avoid any long, drawn out squeaks, Jaune paused to listen for any changes in the house. No doubt everyone else was asleep, he had to be careful.

Stepping out into the passage, he made sure to lay his feet down softly on the wooden floor. It wasn't long before he regretted putting on his shoes and jacket while he was still in his room. The rubber soles thudded against the floorboards no matter how softly he set them down, and the heavy cloth of his jacket rustled noisily with every movement he made. He didn't stop to take either of them off though, that would only make more noise.

Step by agonizing step, he made his way down the passage to the staircase, using the wall as a guide. Upon finally reaching it he let out a sigh of relief, making sure to keep it quiet. Just as he was about to make his way down the staircase, he caught a glimpse of something strange out of the corner of his eye.

His tracker had slowed down.

Jaune blinked at it in confusion. His dad's workshop was on this side of the house, how could he have moved away from it? Right now he was probably closer to it than he was to his room.

...Was there a closer weapon?

Jaune looked uncertainly between the passage he had just come from and the stairs that led to the second floor. The tracker was telling him to go back the way he'd came, and if he did go and try to steal one of the huntsman weapons from the shed, he'd have to walk down two flights of stairs, walk all the way outside and somehow unlock the heavy-duty lock on the titanium security door. If there was a weapon that was easier to access up here, then searching for it would be the logical option.

Decision made, he sat down on the top step and took of his shoes, as well as his hoodie; he'd learned his lesson. Cautiously inching his way back down the passage, he kept one eye on the tracker as he went and sure enough, the flashes began to increase in frequency. The floor creaked slightly with each step, forcing him to stop and listen for any sign that someone had woken up, making the journey a long and nerve-wracking experience. Past the triplets rooms he crept, past his room, the bathroom, Claire's room, the two guest rooms and Macie's room.

Jaune cursed as he passed each one and the tracker kept on speeding up. He didn't really expect a weapon to be stored in the bathroom or Macie's room, but he'd been hoping whatever he was looking for was stored in any room other than the one he was now standing in front of.

His parents room.

Jaune watched with a sinking heart as the tracker stopped flashing and a blue circle appeared over the shape of the master bedroom .

"Oum fucking damnit," he swore softly, eyeing the closed door in front of him with trepidation. If he went in there and they woke up, it was game over.

Sighing in consternation he reached for the handle and slowly turned it, thanking his lucky stars when it did so silently. Slowly opening the door, he was again blessed with oiled hinges. He grinned to himself as he pushed the door open.

_'Maybe this will be easier than I thou-AHHHH! KILL IT WITH FIRE!' _

Jaune slapped his hand over his mouth in an effort to prevent himself from screaming... or throwing up.

There, laying on the bed were his parents.

His completely.

_Naked. _

Parents!

Both of them were laying with their faces away from Jaune, his mother on top of his father. The duvet had spilled onto the floor at the foot of the bed and the sheets were bunched up around their feet. A crack in the curtains let in just enough moonlight, for him to see that their skin glistened with what he _sincerely _hoped was just sweat. Luckily the position of their limbs covered up most of the important bits, but Jaune didn't want to risk getting an eyeful from either of them, and so eagerly averted his gaze.

His barely-audible, pained whimper was drowned out by his parents unconscious breathing. It took everything he had not to gag and run out of the room. Why the hell did this shit happen to him!? Of all the nights to slink around looking for armament, it just had to be the same night his parents made whoopee!

...Actually, this shouldn't be so surprising. His parents were like aphrodisiac addicted bunnies.

Not wanting to spend time in the same room as his naked parents anymore than the next teenager, he quickly hurried across the carpeted floor to his dad's closet and began rummaging through the hanging clothes and shoes, looking for whatever the weapon was. If it could cause 150 damage, then it would probably be noticeably big. Not finding anything, he moved on to his mothers closet.

And immediately slammed it shut with a stifled scream. What the fuck was his mother into?! At least hang up a fucking warning sign you kinky bitch!

The sound of the cupboard being forcefully closed caused his parents to stir, which in turn caused Jaune to freeze in fear.

_'Don't scar me, don't scar me, don't scar me.'_

Jaune held his breath as the bodies in the bed shifted, his eyes wide. Right now, he was more concerned about their movements exposing something he didn't want to see than he was about being caught.

Luckily, they soon fell still again, their minuscule dignity intact. Looks like their earlier activities had exhausted them. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jaune looked around the room, searching for any place that looked like it could be the hiding place for a deadly weapon. There weren't many.

If the weapon were a gun, it could be stored in either one of his parents nightstands, or maybe inside the armoire that their holoprojector rested on. Or it could be under the bed.

Jaune cringed. He didn't want to get any closer to his parents forms than he was already.

Softly padding over to the armoire, he quietly opened the top drawer, wincing at the soft scraping noise it let out. Nothing but knick knacks and baubles. Moving on to the next one, he found only linens. Jaune growled as he went through the drawers one by one. He wanted out of this room!

Grumbling to himself, he pulled open the last drawer.

And promptly closed it again with a muffled curse.

_'For Oum's sake woman, what the fuck is wrong with you?!'_

Turning to look over his shoulder, he glared at his mothers sleeping form.

_'Can't afford to buy me a decent laptop, huh? You seem to have enough money for your own toys.'_

He reluctantly stood up and made to move to his dad's bedside table when a terrible notion occured to him.

Some of the stuff in there had looked pretty wicked. Almost dangerous even. The weapon he was looking for couldn't be in there could it?

Slowly turning his head to look at the armoire's bottom drawer, much like one would turn to face a predator, Jaune stared at it with a horrified look on his face.

...

_'Why are you even considering this?! Fuck no, you are not touching _anything _in that drawer!' _

Jaune shook his head vehemently. He didn't care if it was a one-shot-one-kill item, he was _not _going to slay monsters with a giant pink dildo.

Turning his head back in the direction of his father's nightstand, his eyes caught sight of something unusual in the shadow the armoire threw against the wall. It was a small detail, barely even noticeable in the dark; he was surprised he managed to see it at all.

His brain struggled to realize what he was looking at for a few seconds. It registered that there was something off, something wrong, but it had trouble figuring out what. It was a slight warp in the shape of the wall, a shape that was a slightly different color than the shadows that surrounded it.

Moving closer, Jaune pressed his head up against the wall in order to properly see into the gap between it and the armoire. Squinting, he could just make out a long, thin shape hidden in the darkness. Desperately hoping it wasn't another sex toy, Jaune reached out, grabbed ahold of it and brought it out into the moonlight.

Jaune's breath left him.

_'Crocea Mors.'_

Nicholas Arc's sword; the one that he had wielded all those years ago during the invasion. How could he have forgotten about it? Here he was, searching for a weapon, and he'd completely forgotten about the only one that wasn't locked up. Granted the last time he'd seen it was nearly ten years ago, but still, this might as well have been a hallowed artifact to the Arc family and Nordain's people. One who had seen it didn't simply forget about it.

But Jaune had. Up until he was six, this sword had been hung upon the mantle above the fireplace, a proud family heirloom. Every once in a while the children would pester their father relentlessly until he would reluctantly take it down and unsheathe it, showing off the naked steel edge to wide and awed eyes.

It had disappeared once Jaune had begun talking about being a huntsman. Over time, he and his sisters simply forgot about it. It had been up here all this time.

**Ping!**

**'Stealing Steel' - completed!**

**You receive:**

**\- Crocea Mors**

**\- 200 EXP**

**\- Skill book: Fireball**

Jaune's eyes widened once he saw the title of the skill book. Learn the skill, or check out the sword he now held in his hands? He didn't know what to do first!

Once again, the bed creaked as his parents shifted. Jaune was suddenly aware of his loud and excited breathing.

No, he did know what to do first. Get the fuck out of here!

Moving as quickly as silence would allow, Jaune crept over to the open bedroom door, stepped out and quickly closed it behind him, wincing as the latch clicked into place. Listening carefully for a few moments to confirm that all was quiet, he breathed a sigh of relief. Mission accomplished, all he had to do now was get outside the house and he was in the clear.

Painstakingly making his way back over to the staircase and putting his shoes and jacket back on, he made his way down the stairs, caring less about the noise he made the further down he went. By the time he had reached the first floor he was walking normally; he doubted his footsteps on a tiled floor would echo up through three story's.

With out the pressure of being caught sneaking around in the middle of the night, Jaune's previous excitement returned and a grin stretched across his face as he unlocked the back door. He was actually going to do it, he was actually going to go and raid a dungeon. An actual fucking dungeon! This was every gamer's wet dream!

**Ping! New skill created!**

**Stealth Lv.1 (0.0%)**

**Stealth is the art of remaining unseen and unnoticed. This skill is useful for performing thefts, ambushes or assassinations, and provides bonus damage when active.**

**Additional 20% damage done to enemies that are unaware of your presence.**

**7% chance to not get caught.**

Jaune gave a massive grin when he saw the damage bonus section. He was _so _going to abuse that. He'd need to level up this skill a lot, seven percent was shit and he wanted that damage bonus as high as freaking possible.

Still grinning, Jaune stepped out into the cool night air and closed the door behind him. The shattered moon shone bright above him, suffusing the night with a soft blue glow. Off to his left was his father's forge, a sizable square brick building with a massive chimney built into the middle of the roof. Next to the forge was a smaller brick building, little more than a wendy house. That was the shed in which the weapons waiting for pick-up were stored.

Jaune couldn't help but scoff at his earlier plan. The shed, with its squat, stout shape and heavy titanium door looked quite impenetrable.

_'I thought I could break into _that?' Jaune ridiculed himself as he looked at it.

Shaking his head, he quickly hopped over the wall of his backyard and headed into the forest that was encompassed by Nordains walls. He wanted to be a little further from the house before he checked out his stuff.

Once he thought there was enough distance between them, he stopped and pulled up his inventory, first pulling out Crocea Mors.

Textured cloth served as the grip. What must have once been a bright cerulean had faded to a soft baby blue, the material worn and frayed from years of use. Both the pommel and the guard were made from tarnished copper, and the sheath/shield looked like it had seen better days.

Jaune frowned; this sword really had been neglected. Grasping the smooth handle, made to pull the blade out, and grunted in surprise when it refused to budge.

**Ping**

**Minimum value of 15 STR needed to use this item.**

Jaune looked down at the weapon.

_'Well, it _is _heavy,' _he thought.

Sighing, he opened up his 'Stats' page and assigned six of his eight points to STR and confirmed the change, raising it to 15. It was a good thing he hadn't immediately spent those points after he had gotten them, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to wield Crocea Mors right now.

He frowned again as a thought occurred to him. He should probably get into the habit of saving up all the points he received, just in case anything like this happened in the future and he really needed to dump them into a particular stat for whatever reason. In fact, it was actually better that way regardless; right now it was relatively easy to raise his stats through training, but it would get more difficult to do that the stronger he got. He'd noticed over the past few days that gaining an INT point took progressively longer every time he received one. He'd gained two within the same day by paying attention in class, yet when he did the exact same thing today, he only received one.

It would eventually become very difficult to increase his stats through training, and in that sense, points were very valuable.

Resolving to start stockpiling any future points he received, starting with his two remaining ones, Jaune turned his attention back to Crocea Mors. He tried to unsheathe the weapon again, and this time it worked.

_'Observe.'_

**Crocea Mors (C)**

**A long sword that was first wielded by Nicholas Arc during the Great War, Crocea Mors is a precious Arc family heirloom. It is made from high-quality steel and is a modified version of the standard sword supplied to Valetion officers, the sheathe being replaced by a collapsible shield. While once a proud symbol of the Arc family, it has since been neglected.**

**The sheathe can be deployed as a shield.**

**Damage: (STR*0.5) plus 200**

**Durability: 98%**

The blade, like the rest of the sword, was rather dull. In color that is, the edge itself was as sharp as a razor. Jaune gave it a few test swings, and then smiled to himself. It still felt a little heavy, and it was slightly difficult to control, but it felt sturdy. He didn't know much about weapons, he wouldn't know the first thing to look for; but it was sharp, he could swing it and it felt solid and balanced. That's all he really needed from it.

Jaune held it up to the moonlight to get a better look at it. It didn't gleam, save for the honed edge, and it wasn't much to look at, but in a world were almost every weapon doubled as a gun and had more moving parts than a clockwork mouse, Crocea Mors had a simplicity to it that was appealing.

After fiddling with the shielth for a bit to figure out how it worked and eventually getting it to deploy, Jaune turned his attention to the skill book he had gotten- Fireball.

Hella.

Fucking.

_Yeah!_

All but smashing the 'yes' on the confirmation screen, the small book lost the glow that surrounded it.

**Ping! New skill learned!**

**Fireball Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**One of the most common and widely used skills available during the time when magic was abundant and easily wielded, Fireball allows the user to generate a ball of fire in their hand and throw it. The size and strength of the fireball depends on the skill's level.**

**15% chance to set foes alight.**

**Damage: 50 plus overcharge**

**Max overcharge: 25**

**Cost: (40 plus 1/overcharge) MP**

Casually tossing the now blank book back into his inventory as he read the description, Jaune excitedly held out his hand and concentrated. Activating Fireball turned out to be exactly like activating Dash, all he had to do was will it. He felt his mana pool diminish slighly, saw the blue bar on his HUD dip a little, and with a soft _wump _the air above his palm ignited.

The sudden ignition startled Jaune slightly, but then rapidly became excited. The fireball was about the size of an apple and burned a dull orange and yellow color, lighting up the area around him. It was brightest at its core- a perfectly round sphere from which small, flickering flames burned upwards.

It definitely generated heat, Jaune could feel it; yet it didn't burn his hand. It was instead comfortably warm, like holding a heat-pack. He tossed it up and down in his hand a few times, like one would toss a normal ball, before taking careful aim at a nearby tree and lobbing the ball of superheated gas at it.

The result wasn't what he'd expected. Video games had given him the impression that the fireball would fly straight toward its target - that's not what happened now. Instead of flying toward the tree trunk like a missle, it traveled slowly and in an arc, exactly how a regular ball would have flown. The attack completely missed and hit the ground a couple of feet behind the tree, blackening the grass and causing it to smoke before puffing out of existence.

Grunting in annoyance, Jaune summoned another fireball and watched as his mana-bar dipped again.

_'Can't use too many of these, I need to conserve my mana for the dungeon,' _he thought to himself.

That being said, he really wanted to try overcharging this one to see what that was all about.

He tried willing more of his mana into the fireball, and after a few moments, he felt a slight tingle travel from his chest, down his arm and into the flame sphere resting in his palm. It grew a little, both in brightness and in size, and began to vibrate in his hand. Slightly at first, but becoming steadily more violent as he continued to force mana into it. Eventually it could accept no more; the final result was a noticeably bigger and brighter fireball shuddering violently in his grip.

Taking careful aim this time, he again threw the fireball at the tree trunk, this time hitting his target. The fiery projectile struck the trunk with a _hisssss _and a _pop. _The place where it had hit the wood was now blackened with soot and smoking and smoldering, small embers and splinters of wood briefly glowing orange before winking out.

Jaune grinned. If that hit an enemy, it would do some damage, hopefully even enough to take them down. Straightening up, he ran through one last mental checklist, making sure he was as prepared as he could possibly be. Coming up blank, he brought up the 'Map' page of his menu and plotted his course to the dungeon, which was clearly marked on it.

Once he had his route planned, Jaune closed the map and turned to face the direction he needed to go. Taking a deep breath, he began jogging.

**\- Line Break -**

Doubled over and panting for the nth time that day, Jaune again lamented how out of shape he was. Without the added pressure of a time limit or over-eagerness to test out a new skill, he hadn't pushed himself all that hard, and it had subsequently taken much longer to make the trip. He hadn't event gotten a VIT point out of it damnit!

He allowed himself a minute or two to regain his energy, before straightening out and eyeing the craggy entrance to the dungeon. It was dark.

Really dark.

Like, Erebus-level dark.

And he had forgotten to bring a headlamp. He couldn't very well fight with a normal torch in his hands now could he?

Jaune cursed and looked around desperately for a solution, and surprisingly found one. Off to the side of one of the smaller rocks lay a yellow hard-hat with a big, bulbous lamp fastened to the front of it. Walking over to it, Jaune prayed that the Dust cells still had some juice in them.

Picking up the plastic head piece and dusting it off, Jaune quickly found the switch for the light.

And like an idiot, stared directly at the bulb as he turned it on.

He cried out in pain and slapped a hand over his eyes as what was essentially a mini-floodlight lit up the bottom of the quarry like a Christmas tree. Grumbling to himself as he blinked the spots out of his eyes, Jaune plonked the hat on his head and opened his inventory, taking out both the Toughened Leather Cuirass and Crocea Mors. He fumbled while undoing the straps of the chest piece, eventually slipping it on and refastening them, doing a few stretches to make sure it fit properly. It was snug, but the leather stretched with his movements and was in no way restricting, so he was good in that department.

Unsheathing Crocea Mors and deploying the shield, it was with a start that Jaune realized he was ready. There was nothing more to do, no way he could better prepare; this was it. He had made his decision, and now it was time to see how hard he needed to work; to see how he measured up in an actual fight.

This was it.

**Ping! Quest Alert!**

**The Bowels of the Earth**

**Quest Objective: Explore the first floor of the Crookback Warrens and exterminate all the monsters on it.**

**Quest Reward: 1000 EXP, 5 Points, 1500 Lien, Random armor piece, skill book.**

**Failure Penalties: Injury, possible permanent injury, possible disfigurement, possible death.**

**Accept Y/N**

Jaune stilled when he saw the failure penalties. For the first time since he had received the Gamer's Reality, it struck him that although his life was now a video game, it was not a _game. _There weren't any autosaves, check points or do-overs; if he died, that was it. He would stay dead and leave behind a broken family.

He could _not _afford to do that.

Jaune made a promise to himself then and there. He was going to save people, and probably risk his life doing so, but he would _never _endanger his own life unnecessarily. It was worth just as much as someone else's, he wasn't going to throw it away in pursuit of glory or some naïve desire to be a hero... not like he might have done before. He couldn't do that to his family.

This, however, was necessary. He _needed _to do this, partly to test himself and partly to prove his worth.

Steeling himself, Jaune accepted the quest and turned towards the entrance once the screen disappeared. For a few seconds he did nothing but stare at it, as if sizing it up. And then he began walking forwards.

**Background Music Activated- Into Darkness (Thomas Bergerson)**

"Into the belly of the beast," Jaune muttered to himself as he took his first step into the Crookback Warrens. As he did so, he gave the Rockbottom one last look.

"Via the rectum apparently."

**AN: Before I say anything else, I just want to apologize for the late chapter, but I do have my excuses, such as:**

**1) This chapter was a fucking _pain _to right. Inspiration came in drips and drabs, I had to scrap a few of my original ideas, and for some reason I had a lot of trouble writing some scenes. Like I'd write something and think it's freaking genius, only to come back the next day, read it and realize it's total crap. I eventually pulled it together, but I'm not sure how good it is. Let me know your thoughts in a review.**

**2) School started up again, and the teachers have been throwing the books at us (literally in one case), so I've had to juggle writing between school, sports, and various other extracurriculars. ****Once again I apologize.**

**Now that that's out of the way, on to business! **

**You may notice some slight changes to the way I set out the notification screen. I didn't think the changes were big enough to warrant a 'system update', so I just went for it. Sorry if this bothers you. Also, my documents absolutely refuse to save any plus signs, so I've just written them out in word form.**

**Now, I've had at least two people telling me to go for the harem route and none who were against it. Honestly, I'm very tempted to go for it. Let me know your opinion!**

**In other news, I have recently begun developing two of the many story ideas I have, one being for My Hero Academia and the other for Highschool DXD. I'm excited to start seriously putting pen to paper with them, but it would take attention away from this story, and I feel like it's way to early in this stories life for it to receive a sibling, let alone two. But, for those of you interested, these stories feature a badass Izuku and Issei respectively. Izuku not only gains a quirk at a very young age, he gains a fucking tribe of ruthless warriors as a family (not a crossover). Izuku and Inko will be _majorly _OOC.**

**And Issei... well we gon' have a bit of fun with him!**

**Half of him anyway.**

**So, read and review! (Except you 'Cool Anon', you're a dickhead)**

**Cheers!**


	5. Dobby’s Ugly Cousins Can Suck My-

**AN: The only thing I would really like to say at the moment is this:**

**Void Death's Harbinger, thank you for the support. Your review really made me feel like my work and I are appreciated. **

**Also, it seems that this will be a harem story, which is kinda what I was hoping it would be. For those of you who are concerned about it being a cheap and tasteless "Catch-them-all" kind of deal, don't worry, I don't like those stories either. If Jaune wants a harem, I'm going to bloody well put him through the wringer for it. **

**If there is one thing I know, it's that girls will share everything _but _guys, so I'm not just going to make it a casual "We all like him, let's have an orgy" type of deal.**

Dobby's Ugly Cousins Can Suck My-

Jaune's first few minutes in the dungeon were similar to the eighth season of that show his parents liked to watch, Game of Bones.

Namely, very disappointing.

Upon first entering the Crookback Warrens, he was surprised to find himself standing in a mineshaft. There were tools lying everywhere; jackhammers, picks and other, more complicated machinery lay strewn and gutted all over the ground, along with large rocks and stones. The ceiling was uneven and jagged, with large chunks of stone missing from it.

It looked to Jaune like there had been a cave-in here, which would explain the two 'cheeks' of the Rockbottom outside; they couldn't have been there when the tunnel was built, they lay directly over the entrance.

Moving further into the tunnel, Jaune remained tensed and alert, Crocea Mors held ready in his right hand and his shield held close in front of his torso with his left. The knowledge of where he was and the situation he was in had him on edge and frantically looking around for the source of every small sound he heard, ready to start slicing. As the minutes crept by uneventfully, however, his nerves began to loosen and his muscles started to relax. His sword and shield progressively lowered until he gave up and dropped them fully to his sides.

He quickly grew bored; he had been walking for nearly ten minutes now! The powerful lamp sitting atop his head easily illuminated the tunnel for dozens of meters ahead of him, yet there was never anything but more darkness beyond its reach. The scenery wasn't all that interesting either. Aside from the walls periodically changing from dirt to bedrock, the only other point of interest were the tools and equipment that leant against the shafts walls. There were pumps, generators, hydraulic jacks and other heavy-duty equipment that had been abandoned along the way. Strangely enough, they all seemed to be in varying states of dismantlement. Some looked like they had had their casings pried open and their innerworkings removed, while others were messes of twisted metal and and wires.

The only instance in which Jaune had been in any sort of danger was when he'd gone to investigate the contents of one of the wooden crates that he'd seen every so often. Walking over to them, he'd seen that they contained neat little rolls of brown paper about the length of his forearm. He had picked one up and was surprised by the weight. It was quite heavy, and the paper was stained with some weird smelling chemical that had stuck to his skin. Curious as to what he was holding, he Observed it.

**Dynamite**

**This is Dynamite made from A-grade fire and electric Dust. The two are mixed together in a ratio of 3:2 to form a highly volatile powder, which is then shaped into sticks and bound together with a highly oxidized and quick burning e-poxy. At the time, this technology was considered one of the safest forms of explosives, despite still being quite unstable.**

**This is a high-grade mining explosive with a detonation force of 3 megajoules.**

If Jaune didn't know what he was holding he would have dropped it. As it was, he whimpered like a little bitch, set the stick of dynamite down as gently as his now shattered nerves would allow, and hurried the fuck away from the crates. He had made sure to give the others he had passed a wide berth, not wanting to become a stain on the wall.

Jaune suddenly stopped, his bored expression vanishing in the blink of an eye. For the past few minutes now, the only sound he had heard was that of his shoes scuffing against the floor, but just now he swore he had heard something else, an irregular sound that had broken the monotony of the past few minutes. Straining his ears, he held his breath as he listened.

Silence.

Jaune frowned and listened for a few moments longer, before he sighed in annoyance and resumed walking down the passage. He kept alert this time though, his hand gripping Crocea Mors's hilt and his ears straining to pick up the sound again.

Awareness piqued as it was, he suddenly took notice of the slight difference in his surroundings. It seemed that at some point while he wasn't looking, the tunnel had stopped being a mineshaft. The wooden support beams that had lined the ceiling had stopped some ways behind him, and a few metres ahead he could see that the tracks that ran along the the floor abruptly ended.

The tunnel itself had changed too. What was once a straight, neatly carved tunnel was starting to twist and turn, becoming narrower and uneven as he continued walking. The stale air that he'd been breathing in for the past ten minutes now had a sharp, unpleasant tang to it that stung the back of his throat.

Jaune paused again as once more, the same noise reached his ears, much louder this time. It echoed off the rough stone walls, a rough, clicking, rasping sound, vaguely like a streptococcus-stricken Ibis.

His palm grew sweaty as he readjusted his grip on Crocea Mors. The atmosphere had changed. He didn't feel as safe as he had a few seconds ago. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck prickled uncomfortably, and the sense of solitude that had been with him since he first set foot in the Warrens disappeared. The air seemed to carry a sense of danger the closer he got... along with a nauseating smell, like someone had fermented sewer water in a nuclear reactor.

Whatever was in this dungeon, he was getting close to it.

The guttural coughing sound only grew louder as he came around a bend, and louder still as he turned a corner. He had to turn to the side slightly to squeeze through a particularly narrow section of the tunnel, his weapons occasionally scraping and clanging against the rock. When eventually squeezed out into a wider part of the tunnel, he stumbled over the uneven ground and a threw out his hands to either side of him to stabilize himself against the walls. This had the unfortunate consequence of Crocea Mors hitting the stone with some force, sending a loud, echoing ring down the tunnel.

The guttural noises fell abruptly silent.

"Oh fuck me," Jaune cursed as he quickly stood up-right and shuffled forward as silently as possible, hugging the wall closely. He froze as a single, loud bark of the rough speech echoed out from the stone passage in front of him, before falling silent once more.

_'That's really fucking close!' _Jaune thought in a panic.

The light from the headlamp showed that the tunnel made a sharp turn to the left about fifty metres ahead. Whatever was making those noises sounded like it was just around that corner.

Despite his pounding heart and clammy hands, Jaune inched forward towards the corner. His shield and Crocea Mors were once again raised in the ready position, prepared to defend and strike at anything that popped around the corner and yelled 'Boo!'

The sudden image of Pennywise the Clown rushing out of the darkness towards him while doing that Mistralian jig of his and laughing caused him to shiver violently.

_'_Fuck_ no! If I see that creepy fuckers painted ass down here, Imma run screaming.'_

Despite the sudden and irrational bout of coulrophobia, Jaune continued to inch towards the corner, until he was just a few feet from it. That's when he heard it. The steady _pit-pit-pit _of something small repeatedly falling against the stone floor. At first Jaune thought it was water dripping from some crack in the ceiling, but then he recognized the sound for what it was.

Footsteps. And they were getting closer.

His realization came too late. The creature rounded the corner, and stepped directly into the beam of light emitted from his headlamp.

For a split-second the two beings just stared at each other, each feeling an equal amount of surprise at seeing the other. Then the short creature hissed and spat as it raised its skinny, twiggy little arms to shield its eyes from the harsh glare of Jaune's light. As it stumbled backward, growling and hissing, Jaune could only stare at it in utter befuddlement, his sword and shield hanging limply at his sides.

The creature was like nothing he had ever seen. For one, it was encredibly short; the top of its head only came up to just above Jaune's knees, though that was largely in part to its hunched back and slouched posture. If it straightened out, it would probably come up to his groin area. It had grey, almost white skin the color of ash, with a wrinkled, bald scalp and long, pointed ears, like an elf's. The things head was elongated, the cranium stretching and curving back slightly. Its forehead could have fit another face on it it was so large.

In proportion to its head, the little creatures body was almost comically small. The skin was stretched taut over a thin skeleton, bones and whipcord muscle easily seen all over its body. It had a perfectly round pot-belly protruding from its torso, and thin, dumpy little bow legs.

It was also naked.

Now Jaune had been prepared to fight a lot of different enemies when he'd first entered the Warrens. Zombies, skeletons, ghosts, overgrown gofers; you name it, he was prepared to fight it.

What he was _not _prepared to fight was anything that had its ding-dong flapping about free-willy. And so, the hissing, spitting, _nude _little hob-goblin caught him flat-footed.

_'What... what _is _that?' _Jaune wondered, before casting Observe on it. The thing honestly looked like malnourished, hairless Tasmanian Devil that happened to be suffering from Kwashiorkor.

**Kobold Runt Lv. 4**

**HP: 300/300**

**Stats:**

**STR - 8**

**VIT - 6**

**DEX - 19**

**INT - 16**

**WIS - 11**

**LUK - 3**

**Remnant is home to many creatures besides Grimm, and the Kobold race is one of them. This subterranean species is incredibly sparse and rarely venture above ground, and so few people know of their existence, and even fewer believe in it, so for the most part, the kobolds are considered mythological creatures.**

**Kobold runts are at the bottom of the colony hierarchy, and are often subjected to servitude and slavery by the stronger members.**

**Kill to gain 25 EXP.**

**Ping! **

**Skill 'Observe' has leveled up!**

Jaune had just enough time to finish reading the Kobold's Observe page before it got used to the harsh light that was assaulting its eyes. That's when all hell broke loose.

Squinting it's big, black eyes against the luminescence, it let out an ear piercing screech that echoed throughout the tunnel and brandished its right fist in the air, which Jaune was startled to notice was clenched around a flinty piece of rock. It wasn't quite a stone dagger, but it had a wicked sharp point and an edge that he was pretty sure would pierce skin given some pressure.

Still screeching, the kobold runt rushed at him, and Jaune suddenly realized that he'd been gaping, Crocea Mors and his shield hanging limply at his sides, leaving him wide open.

The little bugger was insanely fast; it covered the few metres distance between them in less than a second and lept into the air, it's stone weapon poised to plunge into his neck. Jaune, eyes wide, barely reacted in time. Flinching back, he only just managed to get his shield in between them.

This didn't deter the kobold in the slightest. Not missing a beat, it planted its cracked and scabbed foot against the shield's angled surface and used it as a springboard to jump over him. Landing at Jaune's defenseless rear, the little blur spun and stabbed at his back.

The only reason he wasn't shanked was due more to luck than skill. In raising his shield, Jaune had lost sight of his opponent, and had frantically spun around to look for it at the exact same time the kobold had thrust, causing the stone shiv the graze the outside of his thigh instead of plunging into his flesh.

The glancing blow cut through skin and cloth alike, making Jaune hiss in pain. The cut wasn't deep, little more than a scrape really, but it still hurt.

**-10 HP**

The damage was negligible, but the hit cost Jaune more than a few Health Points. He had taken a second to glance down at his wound, and when his eyes flicked back up the kobold was no longer in front of him. A slight movement out of the corner of his eye was the only thing that prevented his jugular from being sliced open.

The little shit had jumped off the side of the tunnel and taken a swipe at his neck. Jaune hastily stumbled back, the stone edge just missing his throat.

_'Fuck! This thing's fast!' _thought Jaune as he hastily stabilized himself. _'And smart; that's twice it's gone for my neck! It's not just attacking blindly, it's deliberately targeting my weak points.'_

**Ping!**

**For making an important observation in the middle of battle, you gain 1 INT.**

Jaune didn't even look at the notification, swiping it away without hesitation. He needed all of his focus for the fight at hand, the kobold had nearly killed him twice in the few seconds since the fight had begun. He could _not _afford to mess up here.

Taking a deep breath, Jaune calmed himself down and began looking for an advantage. While he had trouble maneuvering in the tunnel, his smaller opponent was making full use of it, darting over and under him and jumping off the walls in an attempt to slice his throat open. On the flip side, it wasn't very strong and it didn't have a lot of health. He just needed to land one or two good hits with Crocea Mors and it would be over.

The two now stood, facing each other. For whatever reason, the kobold had paused in its offense for a second, giving Jaune time to gather his bearings and get ready. He raised his weaponry, panting slightly, not taking his eyes off the little murder machine. This was it. He could do this.

_'I can do this.'_

One breath.

Two breaths.

The kobold charged.

Jaune was prepared this time. As he was expecting, once the kobold was a few metres away it jumped, going for his neck again. He waited until the very last moment, so it would have no chance of dodging, and swung his shield. It slammed into the kobolds side and sent it flying back down the tunnel, before slamming into the wall and falling onto the ground. The little red health bar above its head dipped noticeably.

**30 Damage Dealt.**

**270/300 HP**

**Ping! New Skill created!**

**Shield Bash Lv.1 (0.0%)**

**Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Use your shield to stun and bludgeon your enemies, they'll never expect it.**

**Damage: 30 plus (STR*0.5)**

Jaune dismissed the notifications as they popped up, his attention focused solely on the dazed kobold struggling up from the ground. The situation practically screamed _'Oppurtunity'._

Activating a carefully controlled Dash, he appeared in front of his downed opponent and brought Crocea Mors down in a savage slash.

The kobold didn't stand a chance. Crocea Mors's razor sharp edge cut through it like it wasn't even there, completely bifurcating it. Red blood splattered the floor and the wall behind it, a little getting on Jaune as well.

**Critical Strike! 582 Damage Dealt!**

**Ping! **

**Hint: Critical and Fatal strikes can be dealt by striking enemies' weak points. Critical strikes deal an additional 180% of damage and ignore any damage reduction skills your opponent may have, while Fatal strikes instantly kill enemies. Enemies with Fatal strike points are very rare.**

**Ping! **

**You have gained 25 EXP and killed your very first opponent! Don't forget to collect your loot!**

_'Huh,' _thought Jaune as he saw the part about critical strikes ignoring damage reduction skills. _'Seems my enemies will probably have something like Pain Tolerance as well.'_

Swiping the notifications away, he looked down at the two halves of the corpse with a grimace. He... didn't really feel anything. Disgust definitely, but not much else. Even if it wasn't human and had tried to kill him, he'd still taken a life; yet he felt no remorse or regret. Did that make him a bad person?

He turned his attention to the stone weapon the kobold had wielded; it was now shimmering with a light golden sheen. Was that his loot?

Picking it up, he observed it.

**Makeshift Flint Pick (E)**

**A shard of hard, sharp rock used by the kobold runts to mine minerals and ore from the rock, though it is also frequently used as a weapon when fights break out.**

**Damage: 75**

**Durability: 38%**

Jaune shrugged his shoulders after reading the description. Maybe he could try throwing it at a kobold next time he saw one and hoped it stuck.

**Background music activated: Tsunami (DVBBS Borgeous)**

_'Wha-? Why did that come up?' _He thought in confusion as a steady beat started playing. Said confusion lasted a second longer before he heard it.

Thunder.

Or what sounded like it at least. Woodenly turning his head to the left to look down the passage the kobold runt had come from, Jaune's mind blanked. They completely filled up the narrow passage. A veritable _wave_ of kobolds was rushing towards him, snarling and clambering and trampling over one another to get to him, the light from his headlamp glinting dully off their dark stone picks. Those at the bottom of the group quickly disappeared underneath the feet and bodies of the ones on top of them, only for those ones to disappear too. He could only assume that the ones the others trampled were spat out of the back of the group, only to become one of the ones clambering on top of their brethren. It was like a living, amorphous wheel that was intent on killing him.

How lovely.

_'Tsunami indeed,' _thought Jaune blankly as the beat gained an electronic rhythm to it. That's when his eyes widened and panic finally set in. _'Holy fucking shi-'_

**Gamer's Mind Activated.**

The wave of calm that accompanied the notification stopped him from completely freaking out, but it didn't make the situation any less dire. He had mere seconds before the seething horde was on him, he needed to come up with a plan _now_ or he was toast.

No longer panicking, but with a sense of desperation, Jaune's brain went into overdrive. Head spinning left and right, looking for anything that might help, his eyes eventually settled on his mini-map. The passage that the kobolds were storming out of was nothing more than a thin black line on a grey background, but further on it seemed to widen out into a cavern of some sort.

That's where he needed to be. If he wanted any chance of surviving this he needed to be in a space where he could maneuver properly; if they caught him in this cramped tunnel, they would tear him to shreds before he could even scream. The catch 22 however, was that in order to get to that cavern he'd first have to get past the horde. Which was more or less thirty meters away by this point.

Jaune bit down on his lip and looked at the pick in his hand, then back up to the approaching, murderous mosh pit. He had an idea. It may work, it might not, but it was all he had at the moment. He had to get out of this alive.

He was _not _dying in here.

The background music had sped up now, the tempo and volume increasing. He sheathed Crocea Mors in the still deployed shield on his arm so the hilt was sticking out of the top. He then adjusted it so the straps were sitting higher up on his forearm, leaving his left hand free for what he wanted to do. He gave one last glance at the hissing mass of kobolds before darting back into the tunnel he had come from, crouching behind the adjacent wall at the junction; with any luck, the kobolds would assume he was fleeing. He briefly considered switching his head lamp off, but quickly dismissed that idea; leaving it on wouldn't make much difference, they already knew he was there, but switching it off would leave him at his opponents' mercy.

As quickly as he could, he forced mana down through his left arm, forming a fireball in his hand which he quickly overcharged. A second later he held a vibrating ball of flame in his left hand, tongues of heat licking at the edge of his shield. It wasn't a moment to soon either; the screeches and footsteps were right around the corner.

The music that had been steadily gaining speed as he made his preparations was now reaching a crescendo, ready to come crashing down with the force of a tidal wave.

Jaune raised the stone pick in his right hand and took a steadying breath. Pulling this off required encredible timing, precision, and no small amount of luck. If he was even half a second off, he'd die. If he was a centimeter out of place, he'd also die.

The music reached its peak.

**Gamer's Mind activated!**

_'I really hoped this counts as a sneak attack,' _Jaune thought, just as the lead kobold rounded the corner.

A voice rumbled out a single word with all the authority of a god.

**_'TSUNAMI'_**

That single word was the cry that let slip the dogs of war.

The kobold had just enough time for surprise to register before Jaune sprang forward and buried the pick in its throat.

**Critical strike! 210 Damage Dealt!**

**Sneak attack! 210 * 1.2 = 252 Damage Dealt!**

**Status effect 'Bleeding Out' inflicted upon enemy! -10 HP per second.**

_'One down,' _Jaune counted to himself. While not an immediate kill shot, it was just as good; with that status effect, the runt would be dead in less than four seconds.

The sudden death of one of their brethren seemed to shock the rest of the horde, causing them to hesitate for a moment. Jaune made no such mistake.

Leaving the stone pick lodged in the not-quite-dead kobolds throat, he immediately drew back his left hand and hurled the quivering fireball into the crowd of murdering munchkins, not putting to much effort into aiming. With as tightly packed as they were, it was guaranteed to hit one of them.

The orb of light flared briefly as it collided with the chest of a kobold near the middle of the pack. Ashen skin blackened and cracked, the afflicted runt letting out a scream of pain, causing further hesitancy among the horde. Unfortunately, that fifteen percent chance to set the little fucker alight didn't kick in like Jaune hoped it would, but that was an inconvenience rather than a problem.

Not stopping for a second, he hurriedly unsheathed Crocea Mors from its place in his shield, which he shifted back into a proper grip. Holding the shield close to his chest, he crouched down so the height difference between him and the kobolds wasn't as extreme. He then held his sword perpendicularly against the shields face, the pommel braced against the metal surface while the tip was pointed straight at the group that was, by now, recovering.

_'Dash,' _he mentally intoned.

The thing about Dash was that at its current level of one, it wasn't very fast; about the same speed as an auraless, world-class human sprinter, but nothing superhuman. The real strength lay in its acceleration. There was virtually no delay between activating the skill and reaching the max speed, and any chump with a basic knowledge of highschool physics can tell you that a teenage boy wielding a combined weight of nearly fifteen kilograms with that sort of momentum generates _hella _force.

That's what made Jaune's technique so effective. The little E.T looking shits might as well be inclined plains rotating helically around perpendicularly orientated metal shafts.

That is to say, collectively screwed.

Within a split second, two kobolds were skewered on Crocea Mors, one through the chest and the other through the stomach. Their bodies prevented any more from being shish-kebabed, but the few inches of gleaming steel sticking out of the second kobolds back still opened up gaping wounds on any grey flesh it came into contact with. Those few lucky ones who managed to avoid the sword got smashed something awful with the shield. Jaune heard multiple _crunches _as bones broke.

**Critical hit! 582 Damage Dealt!**

**Critical hit! 582 Damage Dealt!**

**202 Damage Dealt!**

**202 Damage Dealt!**

**202 Damage Dealt!**

**202 Damage Dealt!**

**202 Damage Dealt!**

**Critical hit! 103 Damage Dealt!**

**Critical hit! 103 Damage Dealt!**

**Critical hit! 103 Damage Dealt!**

**Critical hit! 103 Damage Dealt!**

Jaune felt a brief flash of triumph as the success of his attack repeatedly flashed in front of his eyes. Naturally, that was also the exact moment Murphy decided to take a shit on the situation.

Apparently the group of runts extended more than five metres back into the tunnel, because Dash wore off just before he he could clear the last few, leaving him with trail of recovering kobolds at his back and a few momentarily surprised unharmed ones facing him.

So yeah, shit.

The only reason he wasn't immediately set upon by stone picks was because he tripped over a rocky outcrop jutting from the floor, causing the bodies on his outstretched blade to fly forth and bowl over their still living brethren. While that bought him a few seconds, he was now lying face down on the floor with his ass sticking up into the air, a most vulnerable position if ever there was one.

Double shit.

Angry and pained screeches sounded out from all around him.

**Bloodlust detected! All around you and directed at you!**

There wasn't enough shit in all of Nordain's sewer system to attribute to his current predicament.

Jaune scrambled to get up and make a break for the cavern, but he was to late. As he was rising up onto all fours, a weight slammed down onto his back, driving his face back into the stone floor. He let out a cry of pain as his nose collided painfully with the ground and tears blurred his vision.

**-30 HP**

He let out a much louder, much more potent pain-filled scream as the runt on his back began madly stabbing at his center mass. The first two blows of the stone pick managed to pierce the cuirass slightly, but the toughened leather stopped the weapon from cutting too deeply into his flesh.

**-25 HP**

**-25 HP**

The next few stabs cut straight through Jaune's armour though, the material having been weakened by the tears made by the initial strikes.

**-75 HP**

**-75 HP**

**-75 HP**

With each hit, an uncomfortably large portion of his green health bar disappeared.

**360/675 HP**

_'Not good!' _Screamed Jaune internally.

Snarling, he quickly rolled over, lashing out blindly with his shield. Luckily for him he landed a solid hit against the kobold just as it raised the pick to take another chunk of health out of him. The blow sent it tumbling off of him and rolling into the wall. Unfortunately it was one of the lucky few that had managed to avoid Jaune's previous attack completely, so the green bar above its head was still mostly full.

**38 Damage Dealt!**

**262/300 HP**

Jaune didn't stick around to follow up on on the shield bash, he knew that he had to to get to that cavern before the rest of them reached him. Scrambling to his feet, he jumped over the kobolds that were struggling out from under the two corpses he had unintentionally used as meatshields. He thundered down the tunnel, the beam of light emanating from his forehead bouncing around wildly as he did. The continued screeches and footfalls behind spurned him on, encouraging him not to look back for fear of heart failure. This was _so _much worse than Claire on her period.

All of a sudden Jaune's instincts were practically screaming at him to get out of the way, and almost unthinkingly he complied. This compliance led to the most legendary action he had ever performed, hands down.

Taking a page out of the first kobold's book, he leapt sideways off his left foot and planted his right foot on the uneven surface of the tunnel wall. It was a good thing he did to, because not a spilt second later one of the little shits flew through the space his head had occupied, weapon extended like some sort of living spear. Of course, since Jaune had vacated said space, the kobold continued to fly through the air before ungraciously bellyflopping onto the floor a few feet ahead of him.

Aided by Newton and his first law, along with the slightly slanted wall of the tunnel, Jaune easily took two more steps in his impromptu wallrun before leaping forward towards the kobold, who had shot up and whipped around quite quickly considering he'd just faceplanted. The last things his wide eyes saw was the gleam of silver.

Jaune landed in a skid, the soles of his shoes unable to gain traction against the rocky floor, yet he remained stable. As he slid past the runts left hand side, Crocea Mors swung out in a deadly backhand that took the thing's conical head right off.

**Critical hit! 582 Damage Dealt!**

So powerful was the blow, that it sent the disembodied head spinning into the air. This presented Jaune with a golden oppurtunity as his epic hero slide came to halt just behind the recently made corpse. Spinning around on the balls of his feet, he smashed the head while it was in midair with a shield bash, sending it straight into the face of the next kobold that was rushing him. He could see the things health bar dip ever so slightly, but he hadn't really intended to cause damage, just daze it.

He was successful.

_'Dash.'_

Appearing in front of the stunned runt, Jaune swung Crocea Mors at its torso, the blade lodging itself in its rib cage. It didn't go all the way through, but it was a lethal strike nonetheless.

**Critical hit! 582 Damage Dealt!**

**Ping! Skill 'Dash' has leveled up!**

Jaune had a few moments to bask in the feelings of pride and awe in his own abilities before he remembered he had a sea of the little devils a few metres in front of him, all eager for their pound of flesh. He lifted his wide eyes just in time to see the horde lunging toward him in unison, teeth bared and picks extended.

And thus, the most legendary action he had ever performed came to a painful, tragic end at the points of the kobolds' stone weapons.

The first one to reach him flew at him in much the same way the first one had, and this time Jaune didn't dodge in time. The point of the pick punched through the cuirass just inside of his left shoulder, easily sinking into his flesh.

**-75 HP**

**You have received the status effect 'Wounded'. Strength halved and mobility lowered by 10% in left arm.**

**295/675 HP**

Jaune didn't spare the pop-ups a single glance, mainly because he was too busy crying out in agony. Just as he stopped to take another breath, another kobold stabbed him in the thigh, causing him to let out an even louder pain filled cry.

**-75 HP**

**You have received the status effect 'Wounded'. Strength halved and mobility lowered by 10% in left arm and right leg.**

**220/675 HP**

The dangerously low level of his HP registered through the haze of pain, startling Jaune something awful. He had just under a third of his health left; all it would take to kill him were three more direct hits.

He would_ not _die down here.

With a grunt of effort, he kicked the runt who had just stabbed his leg in the face, sending him flying back into the horde which was by now just two metres away. With a frantic look, Jaune turned around and began running as fast as was possible down the tunnel, ripping the first kobold off of his shoulder as he did so. While the wound in his leg didn't slow him down too much, he was still running with a noticeable limp in his gait, each step sending a jolt of pain through his body.

Luckily, the bouncing light of his torch caught the entrance to the tunnel just up ahead, the walls of the tunnel flairing outward and the ceiling rising sharply. The sight gave Jaune some hope, and drove him to use two Dashes to put some distance between him and the pursuing horde.

A few moments later he entered the cavern. It was about as big as the bottom of the quarry, the ceiling sitting far above the floor with massive columns of stalactites and stalagmites connecting the two. Jaune was surprised to see that there were lit oil lanterns laying at random points around the cave, illuminating it quite nicely; evidently these things didn't live in perpetual darkness as he'd first assumed. The yellow light was reflected of the metal of picks and spades and carts, all of it equipment that the kobolds must have scavenged from the surface. There were also random bits of scrap metal and circuitry scattered around the place, heaps of it sitting in the carts at the other end of the cavern where another tunnel led deeper into the Warrens.

_'So that's what happened to all the machinery.'_

As soon as Jaune was a good way into the cave, he turned around to face the horde, a grim look on his face. Now that he was in a spacious area were he was able to maneuver properly without the risk of being swarmed, the playing field had leveled a bit, but this wasn't going to be an easy fight. There were, like, a dozen kobolds still alive, all of them baying for his blood. He was low on health, injured, and outnumbered. He was three hits away from death, and his armour was doing fuck-all.

He had a very good chance of dying.

Jaune raised his shield in front of him, a twinge of pain shooting through his injured shoulder. He watched as the screaming horde neared the caverns entrance. Determined brows furrowed over fearful eyes; he was scared, terrified. Death was racing towards him and he didn't know what to do. He had to do something; if he didn't he would die.

_He didn't want to die._

**Gamer's Mind activated!**

The notification was what saved him. Not the wave of calm that spread through him, but the actual notification itself. As Jaune's eyes flicked from the box back to his approaching doom, they caught sight of a small, inconspicuous pile sitting next to the tunnel entrance. It took him a second to figure out what it was, and when he did his eyebrows rose sharply and his mouth formed a small 'O'. He rapidly switched his gaze from the horde to the pile, before grinning an evil, evil grin.

_'Oh, you fellows are so _fucked!'

Dropping Crocea Mors at his feet, he summoned a fireball to his hand, not bothering to overcharge it; he wouldn't need to. He watched the murderous horde's approach carefully, his increased INT and WIS going to work trying calculating the best time to throw it. His mind factored in the groups speed, the distance between them, the travel time of the fireball and a whole host of other things he wouldn't have even considered a few days ago.

Just before the horde came tearing out of the tunnel, Jaune drew back his arm and threw the fireball, the sphere of light arcing through the air. Midway through its flight, it occured to him for the first time that if it missed its target, he was screwed.

Luckily, it impacted the stacked crates of dynamite dead-center, coinciding perfectly with the kobolds' exit from the tunnel.

He didn't even hear the explosion, his ears just suddenly erupted with static. A concussive force slammed into his chest and knocked him off his feet. The world spun before his eyes. After a few seconds, Jaune regained enough of his brain functions to shake off his daze, righting his vision and clearing the ringing from his ears.

The tunnel entrance and its immediate surrounding area was coated in a thick red paste. Chunks of meat, bone and assorted gristle lay strewn about in a gruesome smorgasbord. Very few of them were recognizable as actual body parts. The force of the explosion had blown large chunks of stone from the wall, and it was only now, with a paling face, that he considered the possibility of a cave in.

Among all the red, Jaune could see glimmering, golden-sheened objects. Just from here he could see multiple picks, a few Lien and what looked like a small bottle.

That was a _lot_ of loot.

Grinning in spite of the urge to throw up, Jaune let out a slightly maniacal laugh. It was one born out of relief and shattered nerves rather than actual nervousness; he was just happy to be alive. His laughter was cut short as he heard a noise emanate from the tunnel. Snapping his head toward the sound, he caught a lone kobold in his torch beam as it shuffled out of the tunnel. It was missing an arm and its left side was badly burnt. Chunks of flesh were missing from its side, and it dragged its destroyed left leg behind it.

The sight was nauseating, and it brought with it the disturbing realization of exactly how much pain and violence he had just inflicted upon living, feeling creatures. Creatures that had admittedly wanted nothing more than to kill him, but still, this wasn't something to take pride in. Maybe the skills he'd developed, but not the lives he'd taken.

Despite the feelings of disgust and guilt swirling around inside him, Jaune couldn't help but he impressed by the kobold's resilience.

"You survived that, huh? Good on you." He said to it. The strongest response it could muster was a feeble growl. Jaune tilted his head at it; it looked different from the others, bigger and stronger. It's remaining hand was clenched around the handel of some sort of flail. It looked like a normal bullwhip, but with small trendils of string tied to the main cord, giving it the appearance of a branching, withered vine. Small, pointed bits of flint were tied to the end of each trendil. This was a weapon meant to inflict pain.

This disturbed Jaune less than the fact that it looked uncannily similar to what he'd seen in his mom's drawer earlier.

_'Observe.'_

**Kobold Disciplinarian Lv. 7**

**HP: 32/500**

**Stats:**

**STR - 13**

**VIT - 9**

**DEX - 17**

**INT - 15**

**WIS - 12**

**LUK - 3**

**Remnant is home to many creatures besides Grimm, and the Kobold race is one of them. This subterranean species is incredibly sparse and rarely venture above ground, and so few people know of their existence, and even fewer believe in it, so for the most part, the kobolds are considered mythological creatures.**

**Kobold disciplinarians are put in charge of work forces consisting of runts, and are the ones most often subjecting them to abuse. They report directly to the floor Overseer. The more runts in a work force, the more disciplinarians there are to control them.**

**Kill to gain 75 EXP.**

A number of things surprised Jaune; the fact that the kobolds actually seemed to have some sort of organized management system and the fact that the disciplinarian was still standing being the most prevalent. The thing was hanging on by a thread, yet it still struggled towards him, not giving up. He didn't know if it was hatred or determination, but either way it was impressive.

When the kobold got to what it thought was within striking distance, it weakly swung its arm in an attempt to hit him with the whip, but it only managed to get the cord to jolt. It tried again, with a similar result. Jaune felt guilt and pity for it; while he wasn't exactly sorry for killing the little bastards, there was no point in making them suffer unnecessarily. He caused this, it was his responsibility to end it.

Reaching down, he picked up Crocea Mors and walked towards it, ignoring the kobolds feeble growls and hisses as he neared. As soon as he was close enough, he drove the blade through its chest without hesitation, killing it instantly. There was no sense in being slow about it. As the body dropped to the ground, a notification popped up.

**Ping! **

**You have slayed 19 enemies for a total of 525 EXP!**

**For surviving a fight against multiple enemies using every available advantage, all stats are increased by 1.**

Jaune would have grinned had he not just takenkilled something. Giving the kobolds body one lest glance, he brought up his 'Stats' page.

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15 **

**Title: 'Opportunist'**

**Class/es: NA**

**Level 3 (775/900 EXP)**

**Health: 220/675 (3%/min)**

**Mana: 255/460 (4%/min)**

**Aura: NA**

**Stats:**

**STR - 16**

**VIT - 12**

**DEX - 10**

**INT - 16**

**WIS - 12**

**LUK - 8**

**Points - 2**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune is determined to make a difference, no matter how slight, in the world by becoming a huntsman. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**He is currently riding an adrenaline high.**

It made sense that he'd get a point for every stat, he'd used all of them during the fight, even luck.

Nodding his head in statisfaction, Jaune grinned as he switched to his Inventory and turned his attention to the gleaming objects scattered around the cave; it was time to loot. The blast had sent them flying in every direction, so it took him a couple of minutes to collect everything, during which his health regenerated a bit. Most of the items were the stone picks, some with their durability so low he didn't even bother taking them on.

While the disposable weapons were definitely useful, those weren't what incited his excitement. The kobolds had dropped a sizable sum of money, 117 Lien in total. The majority of that amount was from a single, pink Fifty Lien card that one of them had given up.

Other items of interest were the small bottle he had spied earlier and the whip the disciplinarian had wielded.

**Flinty Flail of Flogging (D)**

**This hand-crafted tool is made from the woven hides of various subterranean animals and shards of flint. Kobold Disciplinarians use these to punish and intimidate kobold runts, using the flint shards to create sparks on rockfaces or to inflict painful wounds on their victims backs.**

**30% chance to inflict 'Bleeding' status effect.**

**Damage: 60**

**Durability: 54% **

Jaune pursed his lips. The slight joviality that the alliterate name held didn't quite match up with the rather dark nature of the weapon. It would probably be useful in certain situations later on though, so he made a mental note to practice with it later on as he threw it into his inventory.

The small bottle had a flat, round body and a long, thin neck. The whole thing was a little smaller than his palm and filled with a black, viscous liquid that sloshed about inside. It... didn't look healthy. Then again, most healthy things didn't.

**Ungodly Tincture (E)**

**While smart compared to other races, the kobolds still lack the knowledge and intelligence of the human race, and as such, often produce unreliable or ineffective technology that may or may not work. This unholy liquid is a prime example of this statement. Developed as a medicine, it may or may not heal you. Either way, it tastes disgusting and will lay waste to your digestive tract the following day.**

**50% chance to restore 50 HP**

**50% chance to cause 50 damage**

**110% laxative effect**

_'Huh,' _Jaune thought to himself as he finished reading the Observe screen. Despite the warning that the potion was a double edged sword, he really wanted to test it out for no other reason than it was a health potion... sort of. Honestly, the part about intense diarrhea gave him more pause than the loss of 50 HP.

His health had been regenerating at about 20 HP per minute since the last kobold had fallen, so he was sitting at about 340 HP at the moment. If he did end up losing HP rather than gaining it, it just meant he'd have to wait an extra three minutes before he could begin exploring the rest of the floor; if he did gain some health, it meant he would be back to full health sooner.

Of course, he might need that extra HP at a later date. If he lost too much health during a future fight, 50 HP could save his life. Wouldn't that be the wiser choice?

For a few moments instant gratification battled with its delayed counterpart, until an objective third party in the form of Jaunes sixteen points of intelligence intervened and kicked delayed gratification to the curb. If he was ever in a situation where he was sorely hurting for 50 HP, he didn't want to take the equally likely chance that he would lose 50 HP. Taking a 50/50 gamble on his life didn't seem like the best idea.

At least if he took it now, the possible consequence wasn't lethal; it would just mean he would have to wait an extra three minutes.

Descision made, Jaune pulled the stopper from the neck of the bottle, blocked his nose, and downed the contents in a single gulp.

It took a second for the taste to register.

He fell to the ground, retching. His eyes watered and his pale skin paled even further as sweat flooded out of every pore of his body. A cold chill swept through his being, as if Death had come to claim him and figured out just in time that it was a false alarm. His body shook and shivered like he'd been submerged in ice water.

If he was capable of speech he would have been cursing every deity in existence for allowing such a concoction to exist, but he settled for doing it mentally.

_'Fucking Oum, what the fuck!? What fuck is this!? Satan's heated piss would taste like nectar compared to this shit! Fuck! Fuck you! And if there's some Kobold God out there, go fuck yourself with the pointy end of a Rapier Wasp you bitch-ass slime-sucker!_

This tirade went on for a while longer, until his convulsions subsided and his stomach stopped heaving. As he blinked the tears from his eyes, his vision cleared up enough that he was able to read the notification in front of him.

**50 HP restored.**

He stared at it incredulously. _That _was the version that _gave _him health!? It was _not _worth it!

Struggling up and spitting out a glob of tainted saliva, Jaune walked over to the last piece of loot left in the cavern. He couldn't really tell what it was at this distance as it was quite small, but something about the glow surrounding it seemed different. It was only when he was a few feet away that he figured out what it was.

Gasping in surprise and elation, he hurried forward and picked up the small splinter of fire Dust. It was about the size of his pinky, glowing red and emitting a soft warmth. This was, by far, the best find of the day.

You didn't really need a license to buy Dust, since it was pretty much a societal staple, but it _was_ a regulated substance, and pricey to boot. Buying more than a certain amount (it varied between types) at a time required a signed form stating the reason for the purchase and your name was put on a record that all licensed Dust dealers were required to keep in case the stuff was used in any sort of crime.

For the average consumer, raw Dust wasn't really needed. Most appliances came with built-in, rechargeable cells, so if Jaune had wanted to get any of it in the future he'd have to buy it from the local dealer, and in a small town where everybody knew everybody, that would raise questions he didn't want being asked.

So finding out that he could get them from enemy drops was fantastic. This stuff had hundreds of different uses.

_'Observe.'_

**Fire Dust (E)**

**Dust is the crystallized form of ? from when ? caused ?. Although humanity has little knowledge on the origin or exact nature of Dust, they use it to power virtually all modern technology. Different types of Dust can be combined in numerous mixtures and ratios to produce varied and powerful reactions, or in the case of those capable of magic, use it to enhance the power and effect of similarly natured spells.**

**Enhances the effect of all fire spells by 20%**

**Charges: 3/3**

A single thought went through Jaune's mind.

_'Squuuueeeeeeee.'_

He bounced rapidly on the balls of his feet as he held the small glowing red crystal up to his bright, elated eyes. This was freaking awesome! He could enhance his spells with Dust! Fuck yeah!

Still grinning madly, he turned his attention to all the question marks in the description. He hadn't expected to find such mystery when he'd observed it, and much like that single question mark in his bio it both intrigued and annoyed him. He didn't like being ignorant damnit, not when it came to one of the most sought after secrets in the world! Despite being used everyday, everywhere, by everyone, people still had no idea what Dust actually was, or where it came from. Scientists all over the world had tried to figure it out, but none of them could agree on a single theory.

And here he was with that information sitting just behind a few question marks.

**Ping! Quest Alert! **

**Remnants of Power**

**Quest Objective: Discover the secrets of Dust and its history.**

**Completion Rewards: 50 000 EXP, 100 000 Lien, ?, ?, ?**

**Failure Penalties: Death, Destruction of humanity**

**Accept Y/N**

Jaune goggled, both at the rewards and the penalties.

"Fuckin-A," he murmured to himself. The destruction of all humanity was a heavy consequence for not knowing something.

His gaze flicked back to the line above it.

_'But those rewards though,' _he thought longingly.

Hesitantly, he reached out and accepted the quest; he was going to investigate Dust anyway, there were too many question marks for him to be comfortable. He might as well get some damn_-_fine rewards out of it.

Was the choice to risk all human and faunus life for personal gain irresponsible?

Without a doubt.

Did he care?

Yes, actually. Even now guilt was gnawing at his intestines.

Did this stop him in any way, shape or form?

Not in the slightest.

The window disappeared. Jaune tossed the Dust crystal into his inventory and gave one last cursory glance around the cavern, looking for anything useful he might have missed. Finding nothing, he made sure his shield was adjusted properly on his arm and turned around to head deeper into the dungeon.

He walked right into a battering ram - or what felt like it anyway. The blow knocked a lot sense out of him; he was only aware of his body being harshly jerked and air rushing past his ears, before slamming into the ground nearly ten metres away.

He lay there for a few seconds, his vision swimming and his mind divested of all but its most basic functions. The swirls and spots eventually cleared up enough for him to see the floating text box in front of him.

**-400 HP**

**You have received the status effects 'Winded' and 'Dazed'. **

**-5 VIT and reduced cognitive functions for 30 seconds.**

A timer appeared at the top of his HUD, counting down from thirty. Jaune ignored it in favor of staring uncomprehendingly at the mountainous Kobold standing in the middle of the cavern. Later, once the haze had disappeared from his mind, he would deduce that it had heard the explosion and sounds of fighting from deeper in the dungeon and had come to investigate. As it was now, however, with his impaired mental faculties struggling to reconcile the creature's massive size and stealthy ability, he could really only think one thought.

_'Where the fuck did that come from!?' _

It was easily as tall as his father, probably even taller, but where it's size truly stemmed from was its width. Where the other kobolds were gangly and thin, this monstrosity was as wide as a truck. It's shoulders bulged with an unnatural amount of muscle, making it look like it was wearing a set of pauldrons. It was barrel-chested and it's taught skin renderedevery muscle in sharp detail. Unlike its smaller brethren, its skin was a deep, almost black, green, and its conical head was significantly smaller.

Compared to the little munchkins, this beast must have been fucking divinity.

"Er- Sorry for calling you a slime sucker," Jaune muttered woozily.

Thankfully it wore a loin cloth. He didn't think his concussed brain could have handled the image of this monster's schlong after the beating it just took; that would have been the real head trauma.

Just about the only similarity it shared with the runts and disciplinarian was that it carried weapon. It gripped what looked like the wooden haft of a pickaxe in its right hand. At the top, two metal spikes jutted out from it at right angles, one above the other. After registering this fact he frantically looked down at his torso, searching for the holes that had been punched into his chest. Thankfully, he only found a long gash on the side of his cuirass; he must have been hit below the spikes.

His gaze shot up again, and widened as he discovered that the spikes were not the most dangerous things about the weapon. A smooth hole had been carved into the wooden haft just before it ended above the two spikes, and socketed inside was a red Dust crystal the size of the cullinan diamond. And it was rapidly moving towards him.

"Fuck," was Jaune's eloquent summarization of the situation.

He rolled to the side just in time to avoid the overhead blow that slammed into the ground where he had been laying, the kobold grunting with the effort. The metal spikes sparked, and a second later a nova of fire burst up around the tip of the weapon, causing a small explosion. Luckily, Jaune was far enough away that it didn't take any health from him, yet close enough that the force of the blast added some momentum to his roll, propelling him further from what was by all rights a mountain troll.

He hurriedly scrambled to his feet and backed away, seeking to put as much distance between him and the giant kobold as possible. As he did, he cast Observe on it.

**Jaden Lv. 14**

**Title: Floor Overseer, Brightjade**

**HP: 5000/5000**

**MP: 200/200**

**Stats: **

**STR - 43**

**VIT - 32**

**DEX - 14**

**INT - 17**

**WIS - 15**

**LUK - 4**

**Born on the deepest floor of the Crookback Warrens, where the strongest of the colony reside, Jaden proved viscious and strong enough to be appointed Overseer by the kobold king. As he is the weakest of the Overseers, he was given responsibility of the floor that leads to the surface, a fact that has left him perpetually disgruntled. He hopes to one day be promoted to a lower floor.**

**He is currently intent on destroying the human interloper, both out of principle and in hopes of a promotion.**

**Kill to gain 3000 EXP**

Jaune, his face an image of horror, looked from Jaden's stats (particularly his HP) to the three bars at the edge of his vision.

**40/675 HP**

Jaune paled as he realized he would be dead right now if he hadn't drank the ungodly tincture.

He couldn't win this.

He was up against what he strongly suspected to be the floor boss with a wounded leg and shoulder, acute exhaustion from his previous fight, and forty HP left. Practically the only thing he had going for him was that his mana was almost full; there was no way he could win this.

Unbidden, the memory of Mr. Brunt's story sprang to mind. The man had said, without shame, that he and his comrades had taken one look at overwhelming odds and ran, scared shitless.

That sounded like good advice 'round about now.

And so, in turning and sprinting for the tunnel he had came from, Jaune learned his first valuable lesson as an aspiring huntsman: Know when to run.

Jaden let out a deep, bestial roar that reverberated throughout the Warrens and gave chase, each lumbering step he took thumping against the ground. Jaune glanced over his shoulder, hoping the tunnel would be too small for its massive frame, but no such luck; while his shoulders and head brushed the walls and ceiling of the tunnel, he was running unhindered.

The large kobold may have had a low DEX score, but its longer, muscular legs ensured it was fast enough to gain on Jaune. He looked back just in time to duck under the lunging grab Jaden made with a shriek. Terror coursing through his veins, he started using Dash with reckless abandon, activating one as soon as the cooldown for the previous one had ended.

The act of chain Dashing allowed him to start pulling ahead of his pursuer, but his terror prevented him from focusing during his high-speed bursts, resulting in him tripping and stumbling enough to keep Jaden within an unsafe distance from him. He soon came to the corner where he had killed the first kobold, and lost valuable milliseconds turning it.

This proved enough time for the boss to get within striking distance and lash out with his weaponized pick. Jaune could almost feel to cold touch of metal on his back before it jerked to a halt, having been blocked by the corner. Thanking his lucky stars, Jaune resumed his sprint/chain-Dashing down the stone corridor. Jaden let out another roar behind him and the ground once again shook in time to his steps.

His legs burned. His feet ached. His breath refused to stay in his lungs. He was exhausted and all he wanted to do was collapse to the ground.

Not once did he slow down.

He ran and ran and ran. He Dashed until he ran out of mana. He ran still. He ran until he came to the narrow crack in the rock he had squeezed out of earlier. He ran still.

He ran as fast as he could through the gap, he ran as the heavy footfalls ground to a halt behind him, he ran as Jaden's third and final furious roar at being unable to follow rang out.

He shuffled out of the gap on the other side and kept on running. He ran as the floor became tracks and wooden support beams started lining the roof. He ran past pumps, generators, spades, picks and boxes of dynamite. He ran until he saw the exit.

And then he sprinted.

Only when he had passed out of the Rockbottom did he stopped running, the irony of feeling like shit not lost on him.

He took a few, final steps before collapsing. He lay there on his back, chest heaving and sending great gouts of misty breath out into the air. His limbs shook. His mind was blank. After running so fast for so far, the whole world seemed to be moving at a snails pace. The stars twinkled brightly before his eyes, and for a few minutes he fell into a trance, hypnotized by their rapid ebb and swell.

Eventually, he summoned the energy to flick his eyes to his health bar. It was completely full, having fully regenerated as he lay there.

A far cry from the forty points that it had been earlier.

_'So close to death,' _he thought.

He let out a huff, and then another. The huff became a chuckle.

The chuckle became chortle.

The chortle became full blown laughter.

Jaune laughed and laughed. He laughed until his sides screamed in agony and tears streamed down his face. The sounds echoed up out of the quarry.

His entire body was killing him.

And he'd never felt so alive.

**AN: I tried my best, I honestly did. Not sure if it lived up to your expectations, but here it is.**

** I've spent the last few hours finishing and checking this story, and I'm currently suffering from a headache because of it. This has left me unable to accurately judge my own work, so I'll leave it to you guys to do it for me. **

**I know it's a late chapter. This is due to me starting a rough draft of that My Hero Acadamia story I told you about, and me accidentally deleting the first four thousand words of this chapter. It took me three days to recover from that rage quit. **

**Anyway, shout out to Alvelnor. This guy is the only person so far to submit an idea for a skill, and it turned out to be much better than one of the starting skills I had planned for Jaune, so I'm going to use it. Follow his example!**

**Anyway, I'm exhausted. Imma go sleep.**

**Cheers!**


	6. The Path Less Traveled

**AN: Hey guys. For those of you who are unaware, I posted a new story (exactly like I said I wouldn't). I am going to try to keep the majority of my focus on this one, but I will be spending some time writing out that one as well.**

**To address some stuff in the reviews: Jaune is going to make full use of stealth to set up ambushes, traps and to make some sneak attacks on really powerful enemies, but it's not going to be his bread and butter. Try and picture a slightly more subtle version of Batman. **

**I'm not going to go overboard with skills, I plan for Jaune to use a healthy mix of powers, weapons and plain old skill in combat.**

**To The Qrow in particular: thank you for your feedback. In regards to my nomenclature when it comes to skills, the names aren't always going to be accurate description of what the skill does. I know 'Pain Tolerance' is the ability to withstand pain, but I made it a skill that reduced actual damage because it was the first name that popped into my head. My names won't always be a spot-on description of the skill, but they will be relevant. Also, Jaune has less than two years before Beacon, he _needs _Brunt to get him a trainer or there is no way he will make it. **

**To ehbon127 in particular: Thank you! I had planned to give Jaune some passive skills once he started training with Brunt's contact, but you basically just designed the skills for me.**

**If anyone has any other questions, feel free to review or PM me. Now let's get on with it.**

The Path Less Traveled

"Jaune! What are you _doing _in there?! It's been ages and I need to get ready!" Tulip banged her tiny fist against the closed door of the third floor bathroom.

She had woken up an hour ago and the door had been closed then as well. She had shrugged, gotten dressed and packed her bag for school. She then went to brush her teeth and hair, only to find the bathroom still locked. The only response she had gotten when she knocked was a wheezed out "Busy!".

She had waited for five minutes to no avail. When that got boring, she had checked all the other bathrooms in the house, but they had all been snagged by the other family members already. Quite annoyed, she had leant back against the wall and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

If someone had bothered to plot a line graph of her temperament vs time, they would see a near vertical drop around the forty five minute mark.

"Seriously Jaune! Get ou-!" She was cut off by the sound of the toilet flushing. Stepping back from the door, she regarded it with crossed arms and an adorably childish glare as she listened to the footsteps from inside shuffle and stumble closer. A second later, the door opened.

"Finally! What were you do-"

The smell hit her like truck full of stink bombs.

Her eyes widened and immediately began watering, while her mouth opened and let out an involuntary retch. Her throat clenched in an effort to expunge whatever foul odour was invading her respiratory system. Clamping a hand over her mouth and nose she hastily backed up while whimpering in torment until her back hit the opposite wall, which she slid down until she was sitting. That wasn't far enough away for her though, so she crawled down the passage until she decided there was an acceptable distance between her and the biological calamity that was their bathroom.

Jaune watched all this from the bathroom doorway, wishing he could say it was an overreaction but being unable to.

He leant against the wooden frame, panting slightly. His hair was matted and stuck flat against his scalp. His pajamas clung to his frame and sported dark patches of sweat around his armpits and collar, contrasting sharply with his pallor which was akin to that of a corpse. He was shaking from the effort of standing.

He had returned from the Warrens at around one in the morning, exhausted, dirty and covered in blood, not all of it his. Despite his sorry state, he had felt incredibly satisfied. He hadn't done spectacularly in the dungeon, but he had survived. It had been a bit close at some points, but he had beaten nearly twenty opponents and the whole experience had been _exhilarating_.

He knew what he wanted to do, and he now knew he could do it, albeit with a lot of work. With that knowledge, he had fallen into his bed.

And had woken up three hours later when his insides had started tearing themselves apart.

As advertised, the ungodly tincture had proceeded to utterly destroy his bowels. He had just made it to the bathroom in time, and had been stuck there ever since; howls of agony, groans of torment and even a few sobs ringing out from within. Many members of the Arc family would have nightmares that early morning.

He looked right into his sisters horrified eyes and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Not one word," he warned, his voice a shallow rasp. "I have lost four pounds and the entirety of my dignity in three hours. I am severely dehydrated, my head is killing me, and I'm pretty sure I've lost the ability to walk in a straight line."

He shuffled toward her a bit, eyes wide and slightly crazed.

"So you don't get to complain or whine. You have no idea of the hell I have been through, little girl. You have only had a small glimpse, and it nearly destroyed you. Where you collapsed, I remained standing. You nearly perished; I lived through it, survived it, conquered it."

He towered over her scared, shaking and kneeling form, looking into eyes that were filled with horrified awe. The stench hung around him like a veil, making her light-headed and faint. It was as if she were in the presence of some terrible, otherworldly demon.

Without realizing it, a manic grin spread across his face.

"I am the Alpha Arc Sibling!" He declared, cackling with insane glee.

A swift and hefty smack upside the head quickly disabused him of that notion. Jaune's mad giggling turned into an affronted yelp as a hand grabbed him by the scruff of his neck none too gently and spun him around to face the _real _Alpha Arc Sibling.

Claire stood there with a venomous, no-nonsense glare on her face. One hand was clamped on the back of his neck while the other pinched her nose shut. She got as close to her brother's face as she could without her eyes watering and regarded his suddenly meek and submissive expression with contempt.

"In a moment I'm going to tell you to do certain things. You will do them. Understand?" She growled out.

Jaune nodded wordlessly.

"One: stop terrorizing Tulip. Two: You will go into that bathroom and take a good, long shower. Three: you will then wash your hands and take everything that isn't yours out of that bathroom; you're the only one that's going to be using it for a while. Four: you're going to light a damn mat-... actually don't do that; the top half of the house would disappear."

She released her grip on him. "Go, now! And be quick about it, or you'll miss the rail!"

He scampered off into the bathroom without hesitation. He had survived death last night, he wasn't about to try his luck again so soon.

Tulip and Claire watched him go, before turning to one another. Tulip, no longer under a stink-induced haze, turned to her elder sister with a desperate look.

"How do we exorcise it?" she asked seriously.

**~ Line Break ~**

Luckily the bathroom had a window, so Jaune was able to air it out a bit. He was calmer and slightly more sane now, a side effect of the hot water he now stood under and the simple fact that he wasn't able to get high of his own fumes anymore.

Like most people his mind tended to wander while in the shower, and he found himself reflecting on last nights events. As soon as he had walked out of the quarry, a notification popped up telling him that he'd failed the 'Bowels of the Earth' quest, but he hadn't much cared. He was almost ashamed to admit it, but he'd had _fun. _He had been stabbed, hit and visciously attacked. He had nearly died, had run for his life... he had killed.

And it had been fun.

He didn't know if that made him a bad person, and to be honest he didn't care enough to contemplate on it. He had done enough of that, it was time to get on with his life now. Today he was going to give Mr. Brunt his answer.

Not only had last night been enjoyable for him, it had also been productive. Jaune grinned to himself as he remembered all that he'd gained last night. A point in each stat, some rather kickass loot (he firmly disincluded the ungodly tincture. Never again.) and he'd leveled up a few skills.

**Observe Lv. 3 (11%)**

**This skill allows you to examine any person or object and obtain vital information about them. The quantity and quality of information displayed depends on the level of both Observe and Observe's target.**

**Dash Lv. 2 (4.3%)**

**This high-mobility skill allows the user to perform an insanely fast displacement of themselves in any direction parallel to the ground for a short distance. It is particularly useful for avoiding large attacks that cover bigger areas.**

**Cost: 30 MP**

**Max Distance: 10 metres **

**Speed: 35 mph**

**Cool down: 4 sec**

The upgrades that Dash had received were quite significant. The cost had gone up a bit, but the distance had doubled, the cool down had shortened and it had gotten significantly faster. He had given it a try after his mana had started regenerating again and it had been insane; the tunnel vision would be something he would need to work on though.

Another skill that had leveled up last night had been Fireball; as he was admiring his newly improved skills he had noticed that its EXP meter sat at 98.9%, an inch away from leveling up. Upon seeing that, he had thrown a few fireballs at the ground to push it over the edge.

**Fireball Lv. 2 (5.9%)**

**One of the most common and widely used skills during the time when magic was abundant and easily wielded, Fireball allows the user to generate a ball of fire in their hand and throw it. The size and strength of the fireball depends on the skill's level.**

**20% chance to set foes alight.**

**Damage: 60 plus overcharge**

**Max Overcahrge: 30**

**Cost: (55 plus 1/overcharge) MP**

While the extra damage had been a welcome sight, it wasn't that aspect of the skill that had caught Jaune's attention. It was something in the description, something he had missed the night before.

_'The time when magic was abundant and easily wielded,' _he mused to himself as he lathered suds over his body. The Gamer's Reality was telling him that once upon a time, the majority of people, if not everyone, had been capable of magic. And that didn't line up with what he'd been told about Remnant's history.

Up until four days ago, he hadn't believed in magic; no one did. It was a myth, a fairytale, a plot-centric element of many novels; it was _not _real. He knew better now, but the rest of the world didn't.

Because there was no evidence to support it.

No ancient documents that spoke of magicians, no stone tablets depicting images of people performing miraculous feats, nothing. If people wanted to throw fire around or fly, they had to use Dust, and wielding the stuff in its raw form like that caused massive amounts of pain and bodily stress.

Jaune trusted the Gamer's Reality. All the information he had gleaned from it so far had turned out to be accurate, so he didn't think it would lead him astray now. So going on the assumption that there was a time when magicians existed, which didn't line up with what modern-day scholars knew, that meant that this was an era that predated known history.

And that, to Jaune, was _fucking insane!_

It also raised a very important question. What had happened to them? He possessed magic, and according to various hints the Gamer's Reality had thrown his way, so did a few other people in the world. That was a far cry from 'abundant and easily wielded'; where had all the magic gone? Did it all just disappear, or was it just that the people who could use it had mostly died out. If they had, then why?

So lost in his shower thoughts was he that he almost didn't notice the screen that popped up in front of him.

**Echoes of Remnant**

**Quest Objective: Discover the unknown history of Remnant and the fate of its lost civilization.**

**Bonus Objective: Find three other people capable of wielding magic.**

**Completion Rewards: 20 000 EXP, ?, ?, ?**

**Bonus Completion Reward: ?**

**Failure Penalties: Unfullfillment, possible death**

**Accept Y/N**

Jaune didn't think twice, he reached out and accepted the quest, unfazed by the failure penalties; just last night he had accepted a quest that guaranteed the destruction of Remnant if he failed. He wasn't going to blink at something as measly as his possible demise.

And it wasn't like he wouldn't have investigated this either. He wasn't sure if it was the increase in WIS and INT or something else, but he found that his ignorance was beginning to bother him. The only problem was where to start. If the rest of the world was ignorant on the subject, then where-

"Jaune! For Oum's sake, I need my toothbrush. Hurry up!" The loud and angry noise of Tulip banging in the bathroom door startled his train of thought right off its tracks.

Sighing in exasperation, he turned off the water and got out of the shower.

**~ Line Break ~**

"So, I heard you rendered the upstairs bathroom unuseable," Vanessa said with a teasing grin. She held a pan full of sizzling bacon strips, which she transferred to a plate on the middle of the table, citing a free-for-all feeding frenzy amongst her brood.

"Have you caught a stomach bug or something?" She asked, now with a touch of concern.

Jaune answered distractedly while trying to fend of Saffron's attempts to steal his bacon, her chipmunk cheeks already containing her own share.

"No, I- for Oum's sake Saf, stop it- I think it was just something I ate yesterday. I feel fine now."

His mother gave a happy nod, a large smile on her face. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better."

The tone and softness with which she spoke made Jaune think she was referencing his recent gloom rather than this morning's disaster. He paused briefly; he could see the relief and affection in her eyes reaching out to him. On a whim he used observe on her, wondering what she was thinking at the moment.

**Vanessa Arc Lv. 13**

**Age: 42**

**'Matriarch'**

**HP: 1900/1900**

**Stats:**

**STR - 13**

**VIT - 18**

**DEX - 24**

**INT - 35**

**WIS - 27**

**LUK - 5**

**Vanessa Arc is the loving mother of eight children, seven daughters and one son. She works as the head engineer for the local rail system and does not suffer fools gladly. As a result all those under her authority, whether they be family or employees, know not to test her. Her family is the most precious thing in the world to her and she loves her husband with all her heart (a fact that she demonstrates frequently).**

**She is currently relieved to see that her beloved son is happy again.**

Jaune felt warm and fuzzy feelings wrapping around his vital organs as he read the words before him. He knew his mother loved him, but to see it so plainly stated by a third party was heartwarming. Dismissing the box, he looked his mother directly in the eyes.

"I love you mom," he said, a serious expression on his face.

She blinked in surprise at his abrupt declaration, and then her smile returned twice as radiant as before; a smile that he returned.

The touching family moment was ruined by Saffron, who had taken advantage of her brother's blatant weakness and lightly jabbed his fist with her fork. With a startled yelp, he released his grip on his portion of bacon, the pork quickly disappearing into her already stuffed cheeks.

Jaune rubbed his hand while glaring at his sister.

"Careful Saf," he warned. "Eat enough of that and sooner or later it will start being cannabalism." He eyed her bulging cheeks and the grease stains around her mouth with a sneer. "My guess is sooner rather than later, Piglet."

Saffron let out an angry, muffled sound and jabbed him with her fork again.

Vanessa interrupted the brewing sibling argument with practiced ease, giving both of them a stern look until they lowered their eyes and sat contritely in their chairs. She then turned her attention to the eight-year-old at her side, who was one slow blink away from falling face first into her cereal.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" She asked Macie, a touch of concern in her voice.

The cute little tot blinked her violet eyes blearily for a few moments before scowling adorably.

"No," she pouted. "People kept on screaming last night and it gave me nightmares."

Jaune winced as he remembered the screams and shouts that had left him while he had been stuck on the toilet. "Sorry about that Mace, that was my fault," he apologized.

"Mommy's too."

Vanessa froze, and a second later so did Jaune. The rest of the table turned to the little girl with confused expressions. Claire peered over the top of her laptop screen to frown at her.

"Huh?"

Vanessa looked like she was panicking slightly. Jaune watched on, trying to keep a straight face yet all the while hoping Macie would spill the beans. His mother wanted to mentally scar her children with her deviant acts? Let her face the music.

"I heard Mommy screaming last night as well, way before Jaune. She must have had a really scary nightmare, because she said a lot of bad words as well. I think Daddy was trying to comfort her, but that just made her scream more. It was a very long nightmare."

There was a second of silence before the penny dropped. Jaune struggled to suppress his laughter as his sisters all simultaneously blanched and whipped their heads toward their mother, who sported a rather dark blush. The struggle became significantly harder as he watched their reactions. Holly, Lily and Tulip started blushing themselves and looked away while Saffron kept on staring with an expression of disgust. Claire had sunk back down behind her computer screen, but Jaune could see her shoulders shaking and hear the near silent laughter that escaped her.

The rest of breakfast was spent in awkward silence.

**~ Line Break ~**

The last few biology lessons had been uncomfortable for Jaune. Ever since Monday Ms. Clemen had spent the entirety of her lectures studying him with a look so intense it could have cut glass. She would walk around the room explaining how the excretory system worked, all the while fixing him with a cold, examining gaze that one would expect to find on a mortician.

It didn't take him long to notice that she was circling him, like an eagle would a field mouse. That realization came with a healthy amount fear.

Having been confronted with three days of frosty, deciphering glares, Jaune was understandably perturbed by the picture of cheeriness that was now gracing his sight.

Ms. Clemen sat on her desk at the front of the classroom, as she had been when he had entered. One long, smooth leg was crossed over the other, idly swinging back and forth. She was humming softly to herself, a smile on her face. She leant back slightly, with her hands braced against the desk's surface and her arms supporting her. This had the noticeable effect of pushing her chest out.

The picture of mature and erotic beauty she presented was almost enough to send the class into a blissful coma. They were staring so hard, it was a surprise their eyes hadn't started bleeding.

Except for Jaune, he was too busy fearing for his life.

She had been all but breathing down his neck, these past few days, so why was she now acting as so... _angelic_?

That was the question he kept on asking himself as the last few students trickled into the room and joined their peers in their drool fest.

"Is that everyone?" Ms. Clemen asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. Without waiting for an answer, she hopped off of the desk and strutted to the front of the classroom in a manner reminiscent of a runway model. Jaune swore he heard the blood pressure of the guy next to him spike.

"Right. Can anyone remember what we were discussing yesterday?" The question was accompanied by a dazzling smile that sent the boys further into LaLa-Land. He didn't think she would be getting a response out of them anytime soon.

So he was mildly surprised to hear a voice speak up from the back.

"Common conditions and diseases of the excretory system."

Jaune turned in his seat to look back at the person who had spoken. It was Robin, his sister's friend, and she didn't sound too happy. She had spoken with a decent amount of vitriol in her voice and was sending periodic glares at the males in the room, and surprisingly at Ms. Clemen herself.

He stole a glance at the box hovering above her head.

**Robin Brink Lv. 8**

It was strange; despite being the odd one out in the class, he had never really paid much attention to her. She had rich, brown hair the color of soil that was pulled up into a high ponytail, except for two locks that framed her face. A glossy green and blue feather had been braided into the strand on the right, while the one on the left was loose. She had a slim, delicate looking jawline and slanted eyebrows resting over dark eyes. A few faint freckles were scattered over the bridge of her button nose, and her lips were a light shade of pink.

Jaune felt his breath hitch.

_'Whoa.'_

She was stunning. How had he not noticed that until now?

Her eyes locked with his and Jaune suddenly realized that he'd been staring. He blinked when, instead of scowling at him like she had with everyone else, she offered him a small smile. He blushed brightly and managed to send a brief, awkward smile in return before hastily turning back to the front of the classroom.

"Exactly," beamed Ms. Clemen. "As you know, the excretory system actually includes organs such as the lungs and the skin, since they also expel metabolic waste from the body, but for simplicity's sake we're going to focus on conditions of the renal system."

Twirling her meter-long ruler between her fingers, she picked up a whiteboard marker and wrote 'Urinary Tract Infection' across the top of the right hand side of the board. On the other side she wrote 'Kidney Stones'.

"Now, can anyone tell me what these two conditions are?"

Jaune blinked. Knowledge he didn't know he possessed came to the forefront of his mind; he actually knew the answer.

Unbidden, his hand raised into the air. He looked at in surprise, as if it had betrayed him.

_'Why did I do that!? Put it down you idiot!'_

It was too late, his teacher had already spotted him. Her eyes narrowed and her smile became fixed.

"Yes Jaune?" It sounded as if she struggled to say those two words without growling.

He froze like a deer in the headlights.

"I-uh..." he cleared his throat slightly. "Well, uh, unrinary tract infection is a bactarial infection of the urethra and bladder... right?"

She was silent for a few moments, before giving a short, jerky nod.

Jaune drew a little confidence from the, admittedly grudging, approval and continued in a slightly louder voice. "And I'm pretty sure kidney stones are just lumps of calcium and ureic salts that form in the renal pelvis. You either have to pee them out or break them up with ultrasound."

Ms. Clemen gave him a thousand yard stare.

"...I think."

If one looked close enough, they'd be able to see how white her knuckles were. "That's an almost perfect explanation. Well done Jaune," she said, not sounding as cheerful as she had a few moments ago.

Turning slightly, she addressed the rest of the class. "As Mr. Arc has correctly stated, urinary tract infection is indeed a bacterial disease. It's mainly caused by E.coli. The bacteria travel up the urethra until they reach the bladder, which is when some of the more obvious symptoms appear. Cytsis, the infection of the bladder, causes extreme pain. If left too long, your kidneys will begin to shut down and you'll eventually die."

She grinned.

"Now, can anyone tell me why UTI is more common in women than it is in men?"

No one answered or raised their hand. Even if Jaune had known the answer, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of another passive aggressive glare.

"No one?" Ms. Clemen asked, again twirling her ruler. After a few more seconds, she gave a put-upon sigh and answered for them. "It's because women have a much shorter urethra than men. In males, the bacteria normally dies before it can reach the bladder, while it only has to travel a short distance in females."

At this point she gave a sly smirk. "Boys, just to emphasize the difference, the female urethra is about four centimeters. The male penis, when fully erect, is about two to three times the length of your thumb. That, plus the length inside your pelvis adds up to about twenty centimeters."

Jaune could practically guarantee not a word past "thumb" was heard. Their teacher may as well have slapped the class in the face with a leather glove, challenging their resolve. A stillness fell over the class, and he could _feel _every male in the room resisting the urge to look at their thumbs. They failed miserably.

Almost simultaneously, they all held up the digit in question and subjected it to intense scrutiny. All around the classroom Jaune could see guys holding them up to the light and glancing between their thumbs and their crotches. He even thought he saw one guy reach for a ruler.

Once again his gaze landed on Robin, who was leveling a stony deadpan at her classmates. He sympathized with her a great deal; seriously, how immature could their classmates get?

...

He shot a quick glance at his own thumb before blushing and looking away.

Ms. Clemen continued with her lecture, ignoring the blatant ego-stroking happening right in front of her. "Now of course, back in the days when castration was a legal punishment, men had a lot more to worry about."

_'Say what now?'_

Just like that, the entire tone of the conversation changed. Everyone in the room abandoned their thumb examination in favor of staring at her with wide eyes. She was smiling, and unlike earlier it was not a nice smile. It was a sinister sneer hidden behind a paper-thin layer of sweetness. And while he couldn't be sure, Jaune thought it was directed at him.

"Uh, ma'am? What's castration?" One of the guys on the far right side of the class asked.

_'No!'_

The smile widened.

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked," she said. Jaune had no doubt she was being sincere. "Castration is the practice of removing the male genatalia, usually with a knife or some sort of constricting device that cuts off the blood flow until cell death occurs and gangrene sets in. Either the phallus or the testes are removed, but often times it's both."

The pure _glee _with which she spoke, coupled with the fact that she was staring at Jaune through the entire explanation, was setting off major alarm bells in his head.

_'DEFCON 1! I repeat DEFCON 1!'_

"Nowadays it's only really practiced by farmers on their livestock. They usually use a constricting device, but I've heard rumors that some of the more die-hard sheep farmers in Vacuo simply... make use of their teeth."

The person sitting next to him leaned closer.

"Dude, isn't that what you threatened to do to-"

"Shut up," he hissed, eyes not leaving Ms. Clemen for a moment.

"Back during the time of the Great War though, castration was one of the Suppressionists' favorite forms of punishment," she continued. "They would use it to torture enemy prisoners for information."

The beautiful woman looked directly into Jaune's eyes.

"Particularly spies."

_'Oh, fuck me.'_

"Any person found, or even suspected of leaking information to the enemy had their genitalia literally hacked off. They were then forced to drink as much water as possible, thrown naked into prison cells that were as unsanitary as you would imagine cesspits to be and left there. As you can imagine, their wounds quickly became infected and many of them contracted UTI. And because of all the water they were forced to ingest earlier, they needed to urinate a lot. According to some of the soldier's accounts, the screams could be heard all the way from the third floor barracks."

Ms. Clemen gave a small shrug with her shoulders. "A little harsh maybe, but the rigime was prepared to do anything necessary to_ protect their secrets."_

At this point every other person in the room was looking a little pale. Jaune himself was shaking like a leaf; this was a message meant for _him_.

"Of course, in the modern world this sort of treatment is considered a most heinous crime and is a highly illegal."

She made eye contact with him again. There was no mistaking it, she was fucking threatening him.

**"But you should never underestimate the lengths people will go to when necessary."**

And boy oh _fucking_ boy_, _was it working.

**Bloodlust detected. 3 metres in front of you and directed at you.**

_'Keep quiet or I will de-man you.' _Jaune received the message loud and clear.

With a pale face and damp brow, he gave an almost imepercptible nod. Like the schizophrenic she probably was, her personality did a complete one-eighty. Her 'marked for death' stare turned into the sunny smile she had worn at the beginning of the class and instead of splintering her ruler, she held it behind her back in her clasped hands.

It would seem that they had reached an agreement.

"Now, let's discuss kidney stones."

The rest of the period was spent actually learning about the human body instead of having it subtly threatened. Jaune tried his best to act normal and take down notes, but it was slightly difficult to do that when his pen kept slipping between his clammy fingers. He nearly had heart failure when the bell rang; after calming down to panic, he gave a sigh of relief. Biology was over and he could move on to one of his other classes that didn't have a sadistic, psychopathic teacher.

He packed away his things and filed out through the doorway with the rest of of his classmates. Just as he was about to head off down the passage, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he was confronted with the beautiful and softly smiling face of Robin Brink.

"Hi," she said.

Jaune was nervous around girls on the best of days; with as high-strung as he was at the moment, there was really only one outcome.

"Meep!"

You know when people ask for a moment of silence at funerals, to show respect for the dead? That was exactly the sort of silence that hung in the air between them after Jaune released his distressed bleat. Closing his eyes, he let his head loll back so that it faced the ceiling.

_'You fucking moron.'_

"Did...did you seriously just 'meep'?" He could hear the disbelief in her voice.

Without opening his eyes or lowering his head, he responded in a dead voice. "If I said no, would you be willing to ignore the fact that I'm lying through my teeth?"

"Uh... yes?"

"Then no, I did not 'meep'." He took a second to compose himself before opening his eyes and facing her.

"My name's Jaune," he said as he stuck his hand out. "Short, sweet and -"

_'No!'_

His mouth clicked shut, cutting of the automatic greeting that his father had managed to ingrain into him. He was _not _making that mistake again.

Robin shook his hand with an arched eyebrow. "And?"

"Just short and sweet," he said with a strained smile.

The eyebrow arched even further. "Well Jaune, I just wanted to-"

"Wait, this is going to be an actual conversation?" He blurted out in astonishment, before promptly kicking himself.

_'Dude, really!?'_

"Uh... yeah. That's normally what happens when two people talk to each other," she said with a non-plussed look.

Jaune let out a sigh. There was literally no way he could make this worse; he might as well just tell her the truth. "Ok, before I make an even bigger fool out of myself than I already have I'd like make a disclaimer."

"Oh?" She said, still looking a bit befuddled.

"I... I can't talk to girls properly; I get too nervous. If it's a female outside of my family, I turn into bumbling idiot, and it just gets worse the prettier she is. You're drop-dead gorgeous, so as you can probably see I'm not really functioning at the moment." Looking down at his shoes as he was, he completely missed the large grin that spread across her face. "So if I say something stupid again, just know that it's your fault."

He immediately winced. "Case in point."

He fully expected her to leave, so he was pleasantly surprised to hear her laugh. He whipped his head up, blinking when he saw her holding a hand over mouth and giggling. That was a good sign right?

"You're exactly how Saffron described you," she said, still grinning.

Maybe not.

"Saf talks about me?" Jaune asked warily. He had no doubt his sister loved him, but they were still siblings. They knew each other's most embarrassing moments in life and he was one hundred percent sure she wouldn't hesitate to tell a few of his to get a few laughs out of her friends. Normally he wouldn't really mind, as he never thought that he'd have to speak to any of them, but here he was, hoping to Oum that Robin didn't know about his streaker phase.

"Sometimes," admitted the girl in question. "You were the subject of our discussion during lunch on Monday. After she went over and whacked you a couple of times-" Jaune grumbled at the memory "-she came back and explained what actually happened with Ms. Clemen and Cory."

Her smile dropped a little and she looked slightly guilty. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I want to apologize."

Jaune blinked a few times.

_'Huh?'_

"When you... uh... flicked that erasure at her ass... I jumped to conclusions. I saw what happened and immediately assumed you were-"

"Some perverted moron like the rest of our class?" He interrupted with a raised eyebrow.

She winced a bit. "Something along those lines. I got really angry for no real reason and kind of went off on a tirade to the rest of the girls during lunch. Saffron said she'd go talk to you, and... well..."

She gestured weakly at his face.

"You got slapped because I jumped to conclusions. Sorry."

"Don't be," Jaune said, giving a small chuckle. "I would have thought exactly the same thing if I had been in your position; Saffron explained everything to me."

He gave her a curious look. "Do you really hate perverts that much? You were giving a pretty deadly look back then in the cafeteria."

Robin hummed in thought as she began walking down the passage. Without even thinking about it he fell into step beside her.

"Well yes, but not more than any other girl. I think the main reason I was so angry was because I felt a little betrayed."

Jaune scrunched up his nose in confusion. "Huh? Betrayed?"

She nodded. "We've never really interacted before, but you're the only person in biology that I can really relate to, what with everyone else busy fucking our teacher in their heads. I saw that you weren't like them, and I respected you for it. So when you did something that I thought proved me wrong, I felt a little betrayed."

She sighed. "But then I found out it was actually because you were trying to defend Ms. Clemen and I felt guilty. I would have apologized sooner, but you seemed to be dealing with some things these past few days."

Jaune was surprised; he'd never spoken to this girl before today, yet apparently she had felt a small bit of kinship with him. Who'd have thought?

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really was aiming for Cory's head. In hindsight, it was a pretty crappy idea considering I have the hand-eye coordination of a blind amputee."

She snorted in amusement, causing Jaune to grin. This was actually going pretty well; he hadn't stuck his foot in his mouth for at least three minutes.

"And as for my moodiness, it was nothing more than hormones and teenage angst. I got over myself yesterday, so everything's ok now."

That first part wasn't strictly true, but he didn't think getting into his brief existential crisis was a good idea, especially since the conversation was going so well.

"That's good to hear," she said, giving him a small but sincere smile that set of a little oxytocin bomb in Jaune's chest.

_'Holy crap she's beautiful.'_

The moment didn't last long.

"Hey guys!"

Saffron seemingly popped into existence between them, startling them both. She wore a broad grin on her face and her eyes were sparkling madly, flicking from Jaune to Robin and back again.

Jaune's eyes narrowed. She was happy; _too _happy.

"Oum, Saf! Don't do that!" Robin exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart.

"Do what?" She asked innocently.

"Scare me into old age! I'm starting to get grey hairs because of you!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You don't look a day over sixty."

"Bitch."

Jaune's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Weren't they friends? He thought they were friends.

"Slut."

He whipped his head around to stare at his sister incredulously.

"Disease ridden whore."

Jaune fucking _blanched._

Saffron giggled. "Nice one."

"Thanks," replied Robin with a grin.

Jaune gaped, alternating between the two girls, a confused as all hell expression on his face. What the actual fuck did he just bear witness to?

"Could someone please explain what just happened?" He pleaded helplessly. They laughed at his lost expression.

"That's just how us girls are," Saffron explained.

"Yeah, it's like our equivalent of how guys punch each other in the shoulder."

"That's stupid."

"What, guys punching each other in the shoulder or girls insulting one another?"

"Both."

They chuckled again, causing a grin to spread across Jaune's face. So _this _was what socializing was like.

"Anyway, I'm starving. Let's get to the cafeteria," said Saffron, grabbing both Jaune and Robin's arms and dragging them behind her.

Jaune blinked. "It's lunch?" He asked, eliciting an eye roll from his sister.

"Yes, Space Cadet Arc, it's lunch. You're welcome to join us back down on Remnant at anytime."

Robin snickered and Jaune shot a glare at Saffron, blushing. This had the weird effect of making her smile widen and her eyes sparkle even more. A little warning bell sounded in Jaune's head.

_'What's up with her?' _He thought suspiciously.

They spent the rest of the trip to the cafeteria making idle chatter, Jaune feeling more and more comfortable as time went on. He still had to pay attention to everything he said, lest he embarrass himself, but otherwise this whole 'talking-to-another-human-being-thing' wasn't so difficult.

When they arrived at their destination, he made for his usual table without a second thought.

"It was nice talking to you Robin, I'll see you guys later hopefully," he said with a wave.

He hadn't taken more than two steps before Saffron grabbed him by the back of his collar and hauled him backwards. "Uh-pah-pah-pah, where do you think you're going?"

"To my usual table," he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder to the empty table in the corner of the room.

She gave him an annoyed look. "Like hell you are. You're sitting with us."

"What?" He looked over to the table where he knew they usually sat; there were three other girls there already, all of them just as pretty as Robin. Was his sister crazy?

"Are you crazy? Why?" He asked out loud. "I'm still nervous about talking to Robin, what makes you think I'm going to survive through a conversation with three people just like her?"

"Like me?" Said girl asked with a frown.

"He means pretty," Saffron explained absently, glaring at her brother with folded arms and a hip cocked out to the side. "I want you to come sit with us."

"You've wanted me to come sit with you before, but you've never tried to force me until now," he said, eyes narrowed. "What's changed?"

She looked away. "Nothing."

Bullshit. She had been acting weird since from the moment she had joined him and... wait.

_'Observe.'_

**Saffron Arc Lv. 8**

**Age: 16**

**HP: 1300/1300**

**AP: NA**

**Stats:**

**STR - 11**

**VIT - 14**

**DEX - 15**

**INT - 17**

**WIS - 16**

**LUK - 4**

**Saffron Arc is the third daughter of Malcolm and Vanessa Arc and has six sisters and one brother, who she loves dearly. Saffron is a very social girl and has a network of friends that she regularly hangs out with. She is content with life and subconsciously wishes for it to stay as it is.**

**As of this and the previous moments, she is eager to play matchmaker between her friend and her brother.**

_'She's trying to hook me up with Robin,' _Jaune thought. He looked over to the brunette beauty and blushed a bit; that wouldn't actually be something he was opposed to, but...

He looked over to the table again. Just the sight of the three other females sent a spike of nervousness through him.

"I'm not going," he stated, shaking his head.

"Yes you are," she commanded. "Or else..."

Jaune scoffed. "Or else what?"

Saffron leaned in closer until her mouth was next to his ear, a devilish smirk playing across his lips. "Or else mom finds out about the reading material hidden under your mattress."

His blood ran cold.

_'Oh no.'_

"How do you know about that?" He whispered back frantically. There was no point in trying to lie, she had obviously seen them.

"I like to snoop around your room for blackmail material every now and again, and I have to say it wasn't very hard to find," she said, still grinning evilly.

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well they're not there anymore and you have no proof." They were safe in his inventory; they could tear apart the walls and find nothing.

"I have twenty three pages of scantily clad look-a-likes that say otherwise," she countered.

He tilted his head in confusion. _'Wha- oh... so that's where my issue of Triple X Twins went.' _His shoulders slumped in defeat. _'Clever girl.'_

"Fine," he grumbled. "Just don't be surprised if I have a panic attack."

Saffron grinned, grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him over to the table, with Robin falling in step next to him.

"What was all that about?" She asked curiously.

"Er..." Jaune blushed and avoided eye contact. "She blackmailed me."

"Ooh, with what?" She asked teasingly.

Saffron looked over her shoulder with a grin. "I threatened to tell our mom about-"

"Don't you fucking dare," He warned.

She simply stuck out her tongue and continued to drag him over to the table. The three girls looked up at their approach, and Jaune took a few seconds to memorize the names floating above their heads.

**Chrysanthemum Pretel Lv.7**

**Kara Donnelly Lv. 6**

**Treemonisha Freed Lv. 7**

They were even prettier up close. On the far side of the table sat the one named Kara; she was a petite strawberry-blonde with pale skin, an angular face and big, wide blue eyes that peeked out from under dark lashes. Bangs covered her forehead, while the rest of her hair was pulled into a long ponytail that swung about her lower back.

Chrysanthemum (boy was that mouthful) sat at the head of the table. She seemed to radiate happiness and cheer and she wore a bright smile. Curly blonde hair hung around the nape of her neck and was held back by a red and white striped Alice band. She greeted the two girls with a cheerful wave and gave Jaune a warm, if questioning, look. She wore a royal blue sweater over her school blouse, whereas the other two just wore shirts and skirts.

Treemonisha (what was up with these names?) sat on the side that they were approaching, so Jaune couldn't see her face at first. She had dark skin the color of stained oak and inky black hair that swished about her shoulders in a fishtail braid. Upon seeing the other girls' reactions she turned to look over shoulder and sent them a small smile.

"Hey guys," greeted Robin as she went and sat beside Kara, who was staring at him with open curiosity and making Jaune feel quite uncomfortable.

"Hey you two," responded Chrysanthemum, glancing over at Jaune again. It was obvious she was wondering why he was here, but she was apparently to nice to ask.

Kara had no such compunctions. "Who is this guy and why does he look like a genderbent version of Saffron?"

She received a dry look from Treemonisha. "He's her brother, Blondie," she said sarcastically, completely ignoring the affronted looks all three blondes in the vicinity shot at her.

Kara's eyes widened in an 'ah-ha' moment. "Oh! You're the one we were talking about on Monday, the one Robin called a sickening, perverted asshole with a noodle dick!"

Jaune flinched; that actually caused him physical pain. He looked over at Robin with a deeply hurt and insulted look, and she grimaced in return.

"I'm really, _really _sorry," she apologized hastily. "Like I said, I feel really guilty about everything I said about you."

"There's more?" He asked with a sinking feeling.

Robin grimaced again and didn't answer, instead choosing to glare daggers at Kara.

Chrysanthemum sighed and turned to Jaune with a weak smile. "Sorry about Kara, she's a bit of an airhead. Saffron explained everything that happened, so you don't have to worry about us thinking badly about you. I, for one, actually admire that you stood up for Ms. Clemen."

"Not that that bimbo minded the attention in the first place," he heard Robin mutter beneath her breath.

Jaune nodded to Chrysanthemum as he sat down on the other side of Saffron, who sat on Treemonisha's right, his cheeks red and and his eyes downcast. He had just found out these girls had had a conversation of which he was the subject and described as a perverted limp-dick; wasn't this off to such a great start?

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, before Saffron broke it with a weak chuckle. "Anyway, introductions. Jaune, this is Kara, Treemonisha and Chrysanthemum. She hates her full name so we just call her Chrys," she said pointing to each girl in turn.

"Hi," Chrys said with a sunny smile. Treemonisha gave a small smile and a wave, while Kara gave him a nod.

Jaune tried for a smile and waved back.

_'Ok Jaune, you just have to say your name. That's it; it's impossible to mess up.'_

"Jaune."

His voice cracked like a mirror before Medusa.

Chrys winced and it looked like Treemonisha and Kara had to stop themselves from giggling. Even Robin held a hand up to her mouth in what he suspected was an attempt to hide a smile. With a groan he let his head fall to the table. Without looking up, he pointed an accusing finger at his sisters face.

"I told you this would happen," he grumbled.

"Your pants a little tight there cowboy?" Teased Treemonisha, prompting Saffron to come to his defense.

"He's just a little shy."

"Really?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "He didn't seem that shy when he threatened to bite Cord's balls off."

Jaune groaned louder and lifted his head to give her a pitiful look. "Please don't tell me you were actually there for that."

"Hey, don't make it sound like a bad thing; I was actually quite impressed."

He raised an eyebrow. "With what? I got my ass knocked flat."

"That you did," she said with a smirk. "But you fought. I've seen you around, and no offense, but I didn't have you pegged for the type who would stand up for himself."

Saffron looked like she was about to come to his defense again, but Jaune spoke first. This was a topic he was actually moderately comfortable with; there was no point in changing it.

"None taken," he said. "In all honesty, I wasn't."

"What do you mean," Chrys asked curiously.

Jaune grabbed a napkin drone the dispenser in front of him and was silent for a few moments, figuring out what he wanted to say.

"I don't think I would have done anything if things had happened differently on Monday. I've been his personal whipping boy from freshman year, and I just... more or less accepted it. That was the way things were and I was ok with it," he said with a shrug, fiddling with the napkin.

"What changed then?" Treemonisha asked. "You were pissed as all hell back in the hallway; Cord looked like he couldn't believe his eyes."

Jaune shifted in his seat. "I guess I _realized _that I was ok with it," he murmured softly, tearing the napkin into long strips. "He said something that made me angry, and for the first time I asked myself why I was letting him get away with it. I... I didn't really like the answer."

"What was it?" questioned Kara.

Ok, _now _this was straying into uncomfortable territory. He looked around the table; everyone was looking at him curiously, obviously interested in what he had to say. Saffron was giving him a look of encouragement, urging him to carry on. He sighed; he was already well outside his comfort zone, might as well keep going.

"I was too much of a coward," he said honestly, not looking up. "I was weak and scared of what he'd do to me if I told to go screw himself, and I guess I fully realized that for the first time."

He grimaced. "And I hated myself for it. I didn't want to be weak and I didn't want to be scared, but I was."

He took a steadying breath. "So I decided to change that. I was still weak and more scared than I had ever been in my life, but I kinda just... pushed it to the back of my mind and let him have it." He chuckled a bit. "Best decision of my life."

The table was silent. He looked up to see everyone staring at him, causing him to flush lightly and look away. Chrys and Treemonisha were giving what he thought were looks of respect, and Saffron was beaming at him from his side. Robin wore a weird expression that he couldn't decipher, and Kara was gazing at him with a look of mild awe on her face.

"That's, like, super deep," she said, baby blues shining.

"I must say, it is quite inspiring," stated Chrys. "What did he say that got you so angry?"

_"You have such a beautiful sister Jauney, I can't wait until she finally gives in to me and I can make her scream." _

The words echoed through Jaune's head, clear as day. He remembered them word for word. If it had been anyone else, he might have just settled for glaring at them before letting it go, comfortable in the knowledge that they were all talk. Saffron would kill those guys if they tried anything.

But Cord... _he didn't know. _As horrible as it was, he couldn't definitively say that Cord _wouldn't_ do something; he wasn't the type to take 'no' for an answer. Jaune didn't _think _he'd go so far as to actually force himself into a girl, but he wasn't _sure._

Unbidden, images came to his mind. Unwanted scenes of Saffron in some dark, horrible place, crying and sobbing and screaming for help as her body shook in Cord's arms. The visions hit him suddenly and all at once, shaking Jaune to his core.

_'That's what he threatened to do; make her scream.'_

Pure and unbridled _hate _washed through his veins like a flood. It flowed up through his neck, settling heavily on his brow and shining through his eyes like beacons. It clamped around the tendons in his hands, tightening them around an invisible neck. It pierced his heart and brought a wave of heat that swept over his skin.

And it seeped into his voice, darkening and deepening it.

**"He said he'd make Saffron scream."**

**Ping! **

**New skill 'Bloodlust' created. Please check skill screen for more information.**

All sitting at the table flinched back, eyes wide. Saffron stared at him in complete surprise and the weird look Robin had been giving him earlier intensified. None of them had been expecting the shy and timid boy they had been talking to not five seconds ago to turn into... this. Clenched fists, a hateful glare and a positively _murderous _tone of voice.

"Well aren't you full of surprises," murmured Treemonisha to herself, though the whole table heard her.

"Sorry," he grumbled, turning his attention away from the notification that had just popped up. "I got just as angry when Cord first said it. It doesn't matter how scared I am, I am _not _just going to let someone talk about my family like that."

The girls all gave him smiles at that. Saffron hugged his arm and said a quiet 'thank you'. Robin was looking at him intensely; Jaune almost felt as if he were being appraised.

**_Bbbbrrrrriiiinnnngggg!_**

The bell sent a jolt of excitement through him as he remembered what class he had next: english. He had a quest to complete.

"I've got to go," he said, quickly getting up and picking up his bag. He shot a smile at the group of girls sitting at the table. "It was lovely meeting all of you, hopefully we can talk again sometime."

The girls said their own goodbyes and watched as he walked off, Robin in particular. Her eyes had followed him as he had gotten up from the table, and a smirk played across her lips when he gave them a wave goodbye. As he turned around and walked off, she craned her neck so she could see him over the heads of her fellow students.

"What are you doing?" Asked Kara, who had noticed her weird behavior.

"Trying to get a good look at his thumb."

**~ Line Break ~**

Jaune was anxious all through the english lesson. He didn't care about juxtapositions and run-on lines, he wanted to get straight to talking with Mr. Brunt. Nevertheless, he waited and did his best to concentrate on the lesson, finding it easier than he remembered it being on Monday. He did, however, take a peek at the skill he had created during lunch.

**Bloodlust Lv.1 (0.0)**

**All living things, especially Grimm, are capable of producing a burning, unwavering hate for something; a desire to completely and utterly destroy the target of their ire, known as bloodlust.**

**This skill gives you the ability to generate bloodlust, allowing you to strike fear into the hearts of your targets. The amount and potency of the bloodlust generated is dependent on Bloodlust's level and the level of the target.**

Having seen both Ms. Clemen and Mr. Brunt use this skill, he knew firsthand how effective it was, but he doubted his was at the level of either of them. Especially Mr. Brunt.

When English did end, he stayed behind as all the other kids filed out of the room. Mr. Brunt saw him and figured out what he probably wanted to talk about. He went over to his desk and sat down, gesturing for Jaune to take the seat opposite him.

Now they sat, staring at each other as they waited for the last few students to trickle out of the classroom. He received a few curious and pitying looks from them, but they were ignored; they weren't important right now.

Once they were alone in the class, Mr. Brunt leant back in his seat. "Well Arc?" He asked softly. "Did you make a decision."

Jaune nodded and reached into his bag for the pictures he had printed; the ones of the burnt and broken villages and their shattered people.

"You were right," he murmured. "Death, destruction and heartbreak; I found it all. Too much of it."

The man just nodded as he flipped through the pictures with sad eyes.

Jaune continued. "I almost gave up." He reached into his bag and pulled out two more pictures, the ones of the little girl. "Then I saw these," he said, holding them out to his teacher.

Mr. Brunt took them, and the lines lining his eyes softened as he looked at the two images.

"That little girl is alive because there was a huntsman there to protect her," said Jaune, his voice a little raspy, but determined. "He died, but she got to see her mother again." He nodded to the picture in Mr. Brunt's right hand. "She'll grow up and probably have kids of her own."

He was silent for a few moments, before locking gazes with the man before him.

"One person," he said, his voice full of conviction. "I'm pretty sure I can save at least one person. If I can do that and survive then I'll save one more, and then one more after them. I'll keep on saving people, one person at a time, until I either die or retire." He took a deep breath through his nose. "Even if I only save one person, I think the world will be a better place for it."

Mr. Brunt stared back into his eyes, flicking to and fro as if examining the inner workings of his brain. Jaune just held his breath, hoping that he deemed the reason good enough. Even if he didn't, Jaune did. If he couldn't get training from an actual huntsman, than he'd figure out another plan, but nothing was going to keep him from this. _No one _was going to keep him from this.

Finally, his teacher nodded.

"You might just make it, Arc," was all he said. He then tapped the photos on the desk to align them and handed them back to the boy.

"I'll set things up with the guy that owes me. I'll let you know when everything's ready."

**Ping!**

**'Crossroads' - completed!**

**You receive: **

**\- 1000 EXP**

**\- 500 Lien**

**\- 2 Points**

**\- Apprenticeship (conditional) **

**Ping!**

**You have leveled up!**

Jaune fought off the grin that threatened to break out on his face.

"Thank you sir," he said gratefully.

The big man snorted. "Don't thank me kid, I'm about to set you up with a man who will bring hell crashing down upon you." He reached for his scroll. "I hope you're prepared."

There was a note of finality in his voice, and Jaune realized the conversation had come to an end. He picked up his bag and made for the door.

"Jaune!"

He blinked and turned back to Mr. Brunt. He scrutinized the boy with a critical gaze before looking him in the eye.

"Remember what I said, kid. From now on, you're training to be a huntsman, and huntsman are the best. If you don't live up to that standard, you're on your own. Do you understand?"

Jaune nodded. He was done pissing around; he was prepared to cry blood and wear his body ragged if that's what it took to become a huntsman. He'd made his decision, there was no turning back now.

Mr. Brunt grinned. "You're in for a rough time Arc."

**AN: Finally! Done! **

**Ok, this took a lot longer than it needed to. An entire freaking month. I honestly could have written this in half that time, but I've got fuck-all self-discipline; I realize this and apologize for it. **

**I have around about six hours of free time per day, and I very rarely spend more than a single hour writing. This is a problem, but I have come up with a solution. I like reviews, right? And you guys like timely updates, right? **

**So I hereby declare that for every review I receive I will dedicate one hour to writing a chapter. ****Not sure how desperate you guys are for a chapter, but I think it's a pretty good deal. Now, for all the smartasses (I love you guys) who plan to just spam reviews full of gibberish or pointless words, those don't count... unless you manage to make me laugh. Then it counts.**

**This chapter marks the end of what's more or less the "prologue" of this story. From here on out, shit's getting wild. **

**Next up is a chapter for Marked in Ink. As always, skills and ideas for the stories are welcome. On that note, I'd like to say thank you to Void Deaths Harbinger, who has sent numerous lists of skills and all of them have been _golden. _Thanks man!**

**Cheers!**


	7. My Trainer?

**AN: Hey guys, quick question. Which girls do you want in the harem? Because I know which girls I want in the harem, but I'm curious as to your opinions. Let me know in a review.**

My Trainer? I Don't Have Enough Expletives to Explain the Guy.

It really says something about a person's character when you haven't even met yet and your first impression of them is already poor.

In the space of the past two hours, Jaune's emotions had progressed from nervousness and anticipation to acute annoyance. Mr. Brunt had taken him aside on Wednesday and told him that he had arranged everything with his new instructor. He would meet him at the entrance to Shion's bullhead hangar at the center of town on Saturday.

The news had left Jaune slightly numb for awhile. It was surreal, and almost anticlimactic. Just like that, his huntsman training would begin in three days time. This was it.

Then panic had set in. Ever since he had completed the Crossroads quest the week before, he had spent every waking moment he had improving himself, but now that his time to shine was there, he had suddenly become aware of how unprepared he was. Every little flaw he had seemed to magnify ten times over, his mind conjuring up the worst-case scenarios in which they would cause him to make a fool out of himself in front of his mentor.

His hair was too long. He had gotten a haircut. His clothes weren't suited to combat. He had gone shopping. His skills were sub-par. He had exhausted his mana reserves eleven times in two days. He had studied, exercised, practiced and trained. Never before had Jaune tried so hard to impress someone whom he had never met.

And after all that effort, the bastard had the gall to keep him waiting for two hours! And counting!

He had been leaning against the chain link fence beside the entrance since twelve o'clock, and people were starting to give him funny looks. A few huntsman that had gone through had glanced at him curiously, and the security guards had started sizing him up after an hour and a half. One of them had even come up to him and asked him why he was loitering, a vaguely hostile expression on his face.

"Er... I'm waiting for someone named Markus Vaughn. I was told to meet him here," Jaune had responded awkwardly.

The guard's face had twisted into a grimace, and the previous hostility was replaced by a look of exasperation and sympathy.

"He'll show up eventually kid," he said with a sigh. "You might want to make yourself comfortable in the meantime."

The whole exchange hadn't exactly helped Jaune's steadily declining opinion of his mentor.

Now, half an hour later, he sat leaning back against the fence, grumbling to himself as he looked over his Stat page. He had gotten bored of surfing through his scroll sometime ago, and was now going over the various aspects of the Gamers Reality to amuse himself.

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15**

**Title: 'Opportunist'**

**Class/es: NA**

**Level 4 (875/1350 EXP)**

**Health: 750/750 (4%/min)**

**Mana: 520/520 (5%/min)**

**Aura: NA**

**Stats:**

**STR - 19**

**VIT - 17**

**DEX - 15**

**INT - 19**

**WIS - 15**

**LUK - 8**

**Points - 9**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune is determined to make a difference, no matter how slight, in the world by becoming a huntsman. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**He is currently pissed off.**

Jaune had completed 'Crossroads' the previous Wednesday, and had done nothing but train since then. Most of his day was spent trying to level up his stats, and the rest of it was spent on his skills. Using a level of discipline he didn't know he possessed, he had played the part of the model student throughout each and every hour of school; he took notes, concentrated in every class and committed every word that passed his teachers' lips to memory.

It wasn't an easy task, and the meager two points of INT that his efforts had secured didn't go very far in terms of compensation. Jaune was already struggling to keep up his current work ethic; he had been tempted multiple times to just revert back to his previous classroom habits of zoning out and half-hearted note taking.

_'But huntsman are the best, and if you can't do your best, you can't be a huntsman.'_

That single thought was what pushed him past those temptations. It was what drove him to ignore the physical pain he put himself through after school. Jaune and his siblings would arrive home at around three in the afternoon, and their parents expected them to head to bed at a reasonable hour, generally around ten o'clock. Minus the time it took to eat dinner, do his homework and a bunch of other miscellaneous activities, Jaune was left with five hours of free time in the afternoon, give or take.

At first he had been at a loss as to what to do. He meant to train obviously, but he didn't know how to do that, so he had started with his skills. He wanted to get used to the tunnel vision that Dashing caused, and controlling exactly how fast and how far he traveled while using it was an issue he needed to work on.

And so, he had found a rather effective way of practicing with it, said effectiveness taking the form of literal run-ins with the trees of Nordain's forest. Activating Dash in an area that had as many obstacles as he had hair ensured many, many face-plants, forceful collisions with immovable objects and a few unfortunate nut-shots. Jaune was regretful in saying he now knew the pain that accompanied the action of running balls first into the trunk of a pine sapling at thirty five miles per hour.

He was both thankful and incredibly annoyed that it was _only_ at thirty five miles per hour. Despite using Dash near constantly over the past week and a half, it hadn't leveled up. Not even close.

**Dash Lv. 2 (67%)**

**This high-mobility skill allows the user to perform an insanely fast displacement of themselves in any direction parallel to the ground for a short distance. It is particularly useful for avoiding large attacks that cover bigger areas.**

**Cost: 30 MP**

**Max Distance: 10 metres**

**Speed: 35 mph**

**Cool down: 4 sec**

Apparently the only downside to the skill was that the rate at which it gained experience was, ironically, really fucking slow. Jaune had put the skill through the paces and had little more than fifty percent to show for it.

After more or less mastering his fine control of it, Jaune had begun to use it practically. He remembered what Mr. Brunt had said during their first conversation, about the type training Cord put himself through. While he felt little more than contempt for the boy, Jaune would freely admit that Cord was a power house. So he emulated him.

It took a lot of practice, but eventually Jaune was racing through the forest like a gale of wind, not just along the ground, but high up in the canopy as well. Using the momentum that Dash provided, Jaune was able to jump to incredible heights, reaching tree branches five or six metres above his head if he really tried. At first he hadn't had the strength to pull himself up, or the balance to stay above ground level for more than a split-second. He had fallen more times than he could count and still did fall quite often, but he had eventually learned that the secret to staying aloft was to keep moving. No matter what you couldn't lose any momentum, or else gravity would use the ground to bitch slap you.

Pain was a great motivator and after a while, Jaune was rushing through the trees like a monkey, spinning around their trunks, hopping and swinging from branch to branch, ducking out of the way of leafy curtains and just looking awesome in general.

At least for a few moments. His eight points of luck crapped out on him every few metres and he lost a not insignificant amount of HP falling to the ground. The end result was five points to DEX and a few levels to Pain Tolerance.

**Pain Tolerance Lv. 3 (47.8%)**

**This skill is a must-have for anyone whose life revolves around combat. Through experiencing pain, you build up a tolerance to it and subsequently become more resilient. This skill reduces all physical damage received by the user.**

**Damage reduction: (VIT * 0.25 plus 2)%**

Jaune smiled as he looked at the skill, as well as the skills below it. He'd worked hard to get them to where they were now, and he was proud of their current levels, especially-

"I've got to say boy, you're not off to a great start here."

Jaune started and jerked his gaze away from the screen. Not a metre away, arms folded and his lips curled into a sneer, loomed a huntsman.

With a gulp he quickly scrambled to his feet. 'How long has this guy been standing there?' If the unimpressed look he was giving him was any indication, a while.

"Markus Vaughn?" He asked, more as a formality than for any practical reason; he knew everyone's names these days.

**Markus Vaughn Lv. ?**

**'Ace of Spades'**

"That's me," Markus mumbled, sounding annoyed by the fact.

Jaune stuck out his hand. "My name is Jau-"

"I don't care who you are boy," the man growled, glaring directly into Jaune's startled eyes. His tone was almost hateful, and he had spat the last word as if it were poison. Jaune hesitated for a moment, before slowly lowering his hand, a soft frown creeping onto his face.

The man was tall, two or three inches taller than Jaune. He wore a faded and worn pair of jeans that was fraying at the hems, and ratty brown hoodie that looked as if it hadn't been washed in a while. A blue bandana covered the top of his head, gathering all of his dirty-blonde hair around the nape of his neck. Dark stubble formed an unkempt five o'clock shadow around his face and his hazel eyes shined with undisguised contempt. He was young, maybe in his mid twenties. Certainly not old enough to be calling anyone 'boy'.

If it weren't for the weapons Jaune could see rising up from behind his shoulders and the sheer presence of the man, he would have had trouble believing he was a huntsman. He looked and dressed like a college dropout that lived in his parents' basement and smoked weed, not like someone who battled Grimm on a regular basis.

Markus gave a mocking scoff as he took in the plated leather breastplate Jaune wore and the sword at his hip. "Idiot wannabe," he muttered.

Jaune's hackles raised. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, boy," the man said uncaringly, before turning and walking toward the gate. "Now follow me."

Jaune gaped incredulously at the man's back for a few moments, before doing as instructed. This asshole was the person who was going to train him? The way he called him 'boy' made him feel like a preschooler, and the casual dismissal of his equipment left him with the desire to showcase just how deadly Crocea Mors was, especially when it was shoved up the right place. This stuff hadn't been cheap, damnit. Jaune had gone shopping the previous Saturday, exactly one week ago. With the reward he had received for completing 'Crossroads' and the money he had looted from the Kobolds, he had had just over six hundred Lien to spend.

The first thing he had done was repair and upgrade the Toughened Leather Cuirass. It had been little more than strips of leather after his foray into the Crookback Warrens and he'd been half tempted to throw it away, but he figured it would be cheaper to fix it than to buy a new piece. After wandering around the business section of Shion for an hour, he had finally found a middle aged artisan that was willing to do the work that he had wanted done for the amount of Lien he had. The man had raised an eyebrow at the state of the chestpiece, but hadn't questioned him, something that Jaune was thankful for.

He now wore an Armored Leather Cuirass, a flexible yet sturdy piece consisting of various metal plates sandwiched in between two layers of leather. The plates covered most of his vital spots, but there were large gaps in between them for the sake of mobility. It offered much more protection than it previously had, but it wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

**Armored Leather Cuirass (D)**

**A style of armor that dates back to the first of humanity's conflicts with the creatures of Grimm, leather armor was a popular alternative to heavy, restrictive and expensive steel armor. Steel plates have been attached to a leather base with an adhesive before an additional layer of leather was sewn on top to cover the plates and hold them in place. It has long since fallen out of use due to the development of superior technology.**

**Defense: 150**

**Durability: 100%**

That alone had cost him 550 Lien; the rest he had spent on a durable set of clothes and a single D grade fire Dust crystal.

**Fire Dust (D)**

**Dust is the crystallized form of ? from when ? caused ?. Although humanity has little knowledge on the origin or exact nature of Dust, they use it to power virtually all modern technology. Different types of Dust can be combined in numerous mixtures and ratios to produce varied and powerful reactions, or in the case of those capable of magic, use it to enhance the power and effect of similarly natured spells.**

**Enhances the effect of all fire spells by 40%**

**Charges: 7/7**

Luckily, he'd had just enough to buy it. After seeing the bonus Dust gave to his skills, he wanted as much of it as possible.

He followed Markus through the gate, the guards letting them through without question. Jaune thought they shot him sympathetic glances, but he couldn't be sure. They walked toward the hanger in silence, Jaune trailing a few steps behind, his gaze burning hole in his new teacher's back. A mental 'Observe' brought up a screen in front of him.

**Markus Vaughn Lv. ?**

**'Ace of Spades'**

**HP: ?**

**AP: ?**

**Stats:**

**STR - ?**

**VIT - ?**

**DEX - ?**

**INT - ?**

**WIS - ?**

**LUK - ?**

**???**

**He is currently contemplating murder, specifically yours.**

Sadly, that was pretty much what he was expecting, even that last part. He was confused and more than a little annoyed by the man's attitude towards him, but he didn't want earn any more of his ire than he seemingly had already, so he tried to distract himself. He now had an unrestricted view of the weapons he had spied earlier, and set about trying to figure out what they were.

They were fastened to his back by a black harness in an 'X' formation, a handle rising above each shoulder. Jaune couldn't decide if they were spears or axes, and eventually decided that they resembled weaponized shovels more than anything. The shafts were more or less the length of his leg, and the butts drew almost as much attention as the heads; they were thicker there, and flared out like a trumpet. A weird indigo crystal sat about a hand's span up the shaft from there, fixed into the metal.

'_Is that dust?'_ Jaune wondered.

At the opposite ends of the weapons were the blades; broad, flat and triangular, with curved and serrated edges. Each one was a little bigger than the size of his hand. They looked deadly.

'Observe.'

**Last Bet (A)**

**This pair is a unique set of weapons designed by their current wielder Markus Vaughn. They allow for effective close-quarters combat as short spears, and built in rocket thrusters ensure that mid to long range attacks are also viable. A specialised polarity crystal made of gravity and electrical dust allows either of the two weapons to be recalled after long-distance attacks using a bracelet fitted with the corresponding polarity crystal.**

**When propelled by rocket thrusters, all attacks are critical attacks with a 50% chance of inflicting a fatal attack.**

**Damage: 1000 plus STR**

**Durability: 91%**

Jaune goggled at the screen in front of him. Everything about Last Bet was crazy. The damage, the special attribute and the weapons themselves; they were literally freaking rockets spears! He glanced down at Crocea Mors, feeling slightly less proud of it than he had before. No wonder Markus had scoffed; to him Crocea Mors might as well be a carving knife.

"Has Al explained what's going to happen now?" Markus suddenly spoke up, breaking Jaune out of his musings. It took him a second to work out that he was talking about Mr. Brunt.

"Uh, he just told me your name and that I had to be here." Under his breath he muttered, "Two hours ago."

"So he hasn't then." Markus gave an annoyed grunt. "Listen carefully boy, because I'm not going to waste any breath on a second explanation. First off, let me start by saying-"

He stopped suddenly, Jaune nearly walking into him, and spun around to glare into his eyes. Even though the difference in height between them was small, the man loomed over him like an Ursa, invading his personal space and forcing Jaune to look up at him. Despite himself, he gulped.

"-that I don't like you. I _really_ don't like you. In fact, I'm pretty sure what I'm feeling is loathing. If it were up to me I would kick your ass to the curb right now and I would be none too gentle about it, but Al called in a favor and I fucking owe him, so whether I like it or not I've got to babysit your worthless ass."

He then grinned. Jaune's hand edged towards Crocea Mors.

"Luckily for me," Markus continued, "Al also said that if I didn't see any potential in you I'm to drop like a live grenade. So I've set up a little test for you; if you fail, this little arrangement ends. Pass, and I'll make your life utter hell until you're able to apply to one of the academies."

Jaune's eyes widened. "This wasn't part of the deal! Mr. Brunt said-"

"I don't care what Al said," Markus growled with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You're dealing with me now, and if you have a problem with it then go back the way you came."

Jaune stared at him for a few moments, stunned and slightly scared of the huntsman's aggression. Markus glared at him, almost expectantly, as if he thought he would leave there and then. Then Jaune narrowed his eyes and straightened his spine, anger beginning to simmer in the pit of his stomach. If this guy wanted to be a dick, then fine, let him. He wasn't going to back down now and sure as hell wasn't going to show the intimidation he felt. He wanted this and he was damn well going to get it, even if he did have to deal with massive prick along the way.

He was through being weak.

"What do I have to do then?" He asked, his words clipped and hard.

The show of defiance seemed to anger Markus even further. He turned away with a disgusted huff and stalked toward a group of bullheads lined up side by side inside the hanger. Jaune hurried after him, trying to ignore his rapid heartbeat.

"We're going to fly three kilometers outside of Shion's walls," he said as they approached one of the aircraft. "Then I'm going to drop you off in the middle of the wilderness and leave you there."

Jaune ground to a halt and stared at Markus' back as he climbed the ramp leading into the holding bay. He had a feeling the man had just stopped himself from adding the words 'to die' to the end of that sentence.

"What?" He asked disbelievingly.

Markus reached the top of the ramp and turned to look down at him imperiously, arms folded. "Your job," he said, completely ignoring him, "is to make it from there to Shion's west entrance in one piece."

Jaune continued to stare at him like an idiot. He made it sound so simple. It really wasn't. Three kilometers outside of Shion's walls, the forest was likely to be teeming with Grimm; Jaune didn't know the logistics of the culling procedures the huntsman used, but he doubted that a settlement of Shion's size required every creature within a three kilometer radius to be killed.

He would have to face Grimm.

"So you're saying," he said slowly, "that to pass this test of yours I have to travel by myself through three kilometers of dense vegetation infested with man-eating nightmares, and that my success is dependent on whether I live or die?"

"Exactly."

Jaune stared for a few moments longer, wondering whether or not Markus was insane.

'_Not a fucking chance, mate.' _

His mouth opened to start spewing protests, and then just as quickly snapped shut. Markus was no longer glaring or scowling at him; in fact his expression was decidedly blank. He just stood there, arms folded and staring at him.

Jaune peered at him suspiciously; this guy had been nothing but hostile since the second they had met. After a few seconds, he saw it; despite how he tried to hide it, Jaune could see a hopeful glint in the man's eye.

'_He wants me to complain,' _Jaune realized. '_He wants an excuse to get rid of me'._ Markus had made it clear from the start that he wanted nothing to do with this. He was looking for a quick and easy way out, and so he had laid an impossible task at Jaune's feet.

It didn't matter that this 'test' was unfair. If he raised a single word of protest, if he tried to argue that he had no aura, no training and no semblance, Markus would send him packing. The bastard already knew all of that, and Jaune didn't doubt he was petty and spiteful enough to decide that any unwillingness on Jaune's part was enough of a reason to fail him.

He could almost hear his voice now. Something along the lines of '_Huntsman don't question or complain; they do their job. Get lost kid.'_

'_Well screw you, dickhead,'_ Jaune thought.

He started up the ramp. "Come on then. We're wasting daylight," he said as he brushed past Markus' form.

**Ping!**

**Bloodlust detected! 2 metres behind you and directed at you!**

Jaune nearly stumbled and a cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck. His instincts were screaming at him that his life was in danger, but he continued to walk into the bullhead as calmly as possible.

It took all he had not to turn around.

**~ Line Break ~**

Jaune had just discovered an aspect of Gamer's Mind that elevated it to his favorite skill. Screw throwing fire and traveling at super speed; a skill that got rid of his air sickness was better than all of them.

Gamer's Mind activated!

Jaune let out a short sigh of relief as another wave of nausea was repressed. It wasn't a perfect solution, as he could still feel his stomach roiling every now and again, but the urge to projectile vomit that he normally felt while traveling by bullhead was no longer there.

He held onto one of the straps that lined the ceiling and stared out the back of the aircraft. For some reason Markus had left the ramp open when they had taken off. It was something that commercial pilots did sometimes, allowing their passengers an unrestricted view of the land they were flying over during the last few minutes of their flight. Of course, the passengers were usually strapped in for that leg of the journey, but Jaune wasn't too concerned; they weren't that high up and he was much closer to the cockpit than he was to the ramp.

They were flying just above the forest canopy, a few of the taller trees occasionally brushing the underside of the lowered ramp. The air was thick with heat and pollen, causing Jaune's nose to itch. The afternoon light seemed to enhance the color of the forest, a sea of vibrant emerald green stretching out to the horizon past the opening at the back at the bullhead. If Jaune squinted, he could just make out the tips of a few of Shion's taller buildings in the distance.

He shot a surprised glance at the floor as the aircraft started decelerating. 'That was quick,' he thought. Granted three kilometers wasn't much of a distance, especially by bullhead, but it couldn't have been more than forty seconds since they had taken off.

Soon the bullhead came to a complete stop above the trees, their tips swaying just a few feet below. Jaune gave a start as the door between the cockpit and loading bay suddenly slid open and Markus stormed past him, a scowl on his face. Tentatively Jaune followed him as he stalked towards the open ramp.

Markus came to a stop dangerously close to the edge, steadily planting his feet and folding his arms as he gazed over the greenery below them. Jaune approached with much more hesitancy and decidedly less steady legs. Haltingly he inched his way to stand beside Markus and leant forward to peer down towards the ground. A shaky gasp left him as the muscles in his legs seized up.

"This is where you start," the man beside him grunted. "All you have to do is get back to Shion's west entrance alive. There will be Grimm, and they will want nothing more than to tear into you like you're a bloody steak. Do not hesitate to kill anything in your path and do not stop moving, or you will die."

Jaune spared him a brief, terrified glance before fixing his eyes back on the swaying branches beneath him.

"You scared, boy?" Markus asked mockingly.

Jaune was too afraid to do anything other than answer honestly. His racing heart was no longer completely owed to the distance between him and the ground. Thinking now about the task that lay ahead of him, his stomach clenched and he felt bile rise in his throat. Fear clenched around his innards like a vise.

"I'm terrified."

A few silent moments passed.

"Do you still want to do this?" Markus' tone was serious this time.

**Ping! Quest Alert!**

**Trial by Asshole**

**Quest Objectives: Make it back to Shion's west entrance alive.**

**Bonus Objective: Slay 3 enemies.**

**Quest Rewards: 1000 EXP, 500 Lien, ?, ?**

**Bonus Rewards: ?, ?**

**Failure Penalties: Death**

**Accept Y/N**

Jaune hesitated. Did he really want to do this? Grimm… Grimm were the single biggest threat to humanity. The kobolds he had faced before would be nothing compared to them. They were ferocious, bloodthirsty and completely malevolent; all it would take would be one tiny, careless mistake and he would literally be ripped to shreds. Hell, he could do everything right and still die.

Did he really want to do this? No, he didn't.

He took a deep, shaky breath and accepted the quest.

"Yes."

"Well alright then," Markus said with a grunt. A few more seconds passed before he spoke up again. "Hey kid, how long does it take a blonde to realize they're fucked?"

Jaune's fear was temporarily shoved to the wayside as a feeling of exasperation swept through him and a deadpan settled on his face.

'_Really, a blonde joke? Come on man, how original can- wait what?'_

Jaune's head snapped towards Markus as his exact words registered and felt the bottom of his stomach fall out. Markus was grinning again, and it looked ten times more evil than last time.

"About two and a half seconds then," he said, before placing his hand in between Jaune's shoulder blades and pushing him over the edge.

Jaune only had one thing to say to that.

"Motherfucker!"

Whether he was referencing his situation in general or just Markus was unclear, but either way the exclamation was definitely directed at the latter.

A split second after being pushed off of the freaking bullhead, sharp snaps filled the air as the delicate twigs at the top of the tree he was now falling through broke. Panic gripped him as he screamed. A glance over his shoulder showed the fast approaching ground through the gaps in the branches. He needed to do something, or else he would become a stain on the ground in about three seconds, give or take.

The idea to deploy his shield to protect himself briefly flitted through his head before he got rid of it. It wouldn't absorb nearly enough of the impact to save his life, and besides, he'd hit the ground before he'd even detached the sheath from his belt.

A pained grunt left him as his arms, which were raised to protect his head, bounced of a thicker branch and sent him flying into another one. Desperately, he tried to grab ahold of it, but his grip slipped and he resumed his rapid descent through the tree.

Managing to orientate himself so he was falling feet first, he spied another sturdy looking branch just below him; on instinct, his hands reached out and gripped it. The branch acting as a fulcrum, his body's momentum was suddenly redirected and he was able to swing around the branch, now traveling laterally instead of vertically. The branch wasn't as sturdy as he'd first thought though; just as he reached the end of his arc, it broke with a loud crack, the weight of his falling body proving too much for it.

With a grunt and a curse, Jaune landed feet first on another branch a bit lower down, slipped and quickly hopped to a different one before he completely lost his balance, having a more stable landing. He felt himself teeter for a few moments before quickly jumping to another one with a muffled curse. Adrenaline coursed through his veins; some subconscious part of his mind that wasn't busy screaming in panic wondered if this was what sprinting down a flight of stairs was like.

Using this method of graceless, semi-competent branch hopping, he eventually reached the ground, falling the last four metres and landing flat on his back in a groaning, disheveled heap. There were tears in his clothes and leaves in his hair. A few scrapes and cuts stung in the open air.

Jaune just lay there for a minute or two, letting out soft whimpers and groans as he stared past the multiple damage notifications that were stacked in front of him at the path he had bored through the forest canopy. Sitting up with a groan he waved away the notifications and turned his attention to his HP bar.

**493/750 HP**

He stared at it with disbelieving eyes. "He pushed me," he muttered, not quite comprehending the words. Leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree, he managed to stagger to his feet.

"That motherfucker pushed me," he said, his voice gaining volume and anger.

He tilted his head back to once again stare at the self-made tunnel that connected him to the sky above. It was a long-ass tunnel.

"That motherfucking rat bastard pushed me out of a fucking bullhead!" He shouted, now seething. "What the actual fuck?! Who fucking does that?! I could have died! Shit, that's probably what he was hoping for! That weedy prick is probably laughing his ass off right now!"

He continued to rage and cuss out his mentor in this manner for a while longer, before he was startled out of his ramblings by the sound of snapping twig in the distance. He whirled around to face the direction in which it had come and listened carefully, frozen.

Nothing.

Slowly he looked around, fully realizing for the first time just where he was. Before his eyes, the forest changed; the shadows grew longer and darker, and all the little sounds of nature seemed to grow less natural and more ominous. The trees themselves appeared more sinister than they had a second ago.

He gulped, feeling more vulnerable now than he ever had before. He could feel a pressure growing in his chest, fear taking root like a cancer. With tremendous mental effort he tried to shove the feeling away and was only partially successful. He needed to move, now. His little temper tantrum just now might as well have been a signal flare for any Grimm in the area, and fear would be just as damning. He needed to stay as calm as possible while getting away from here as fast as possible.

Easier said than done. Pushing down the fear crawling up his throat with a gulp he brought up his menu and navigated to his map screen. Shion lay behind him and a bit to his left. Dismissing the screen, he gave the direction the sound had come from one last nervous glance before turning around and breaking into a run.

The first few minutes were extremely nerve wracking; every little rustle and crunch of vegetation had him freezing up like a rabbit and every small movement in the shadows caused his hand to twitch towards Crocea Mors. It eventually got so bad that he used Dash to jump up into the trees. It was slower and more hazardous than traveling along the ground, but it felt safer and helped put Jaune at ease.

He stopped every now and again to check his map. It must have been nearly ten minutes now, and based on the distance that still lay between him and Shion, he had traveled less than a kilometer. Jaune frowned as he stared at the screen, drumming his fingers against the trunk of the tree he was currently perched in; he wasn't making good time and he wanted to get out of this forest as soon as possible. He didn't care about completing the bonus objective, especially if it meant going up against Grimm. He wanted to stay as far away from those creatures as possible.

Logically, Jaune knew he'd have to go up against the creatures of Grimm eventually, but he knew that as he was now he wasn't ready. He'd happily go up against them, just after he had things like skills, experience, aura, a semblance, etcetera. You know, the essentials.

Jaune debated on whether to continue sacrificing speed for safety or travel along the ground, before deciding to stay in the trees. Sighing, he closed the screen and looked around for a branch that was close enough to jump to.

His eyes widened and he slammed a hand over his mouth to keep from gasping. Every muscle in his body clenched violently in unison. He hadn't seen it arrive, and he hadn't heard it. It was suddenly just there, melting out of the shadows like a puddle of oil. Jaune's body shook as he hugged the trunk of the tree with one arm, his other hand still clamped over his mouth to suppress the whimpers that wanted to escape him.

There, fifteen metres away, silently padding through the trees, was a beowolf.

Even across this distance, Jaune could hear the deep, rumbling growl that emanated from its throat. It's black skin and bone-white armor served to break up the shape of its body, allowing it to blend into the shadowy background of the woods. An impressive feat considering it was the size of a small horse. If it weren't for the glowing ruby eyes, Jaune would have had trouble following it as it slunk in between the trees and bushes.

Jaune watched as it moved closer. It hadn't seemed to have noticed him yet, but the way it moved reminded him of a cat he had once seen stalking a grasshopper. It's body kept low to the ground and it's ears were flat against its head. It was on the hunt.

His hopes that the monster would move on and leave the area were dashed; the beowolf stopped a little more than ten meters away from the base of the tree. '_Fuck_,' he thought. It's ears kept twitching every which way and it swung its head back and forth. It was looking for something.

'_Looking for me,' _Jaune realized with a stab of horror. '_It knows I'm here!' _

The beowolf's head turned in his direction sharply, its growls growing louder. Too late, Jaune realized his mistake and desperately tried to bury his fear, but it didn't work. If anything, his fear just increased with the Grimm's growls, and he reached a full blown panic attack in short order.

**Gamer's Mind activated!**

Jaune would have sighed in relief if he could have. The beowolf's growls dropped off sharply as he felt the majority of his fear melt away, and it began swinging its head back and forth again, looking quite confused. Much to his dismay it seemed to still be able to sense his lingering nervousness and stayed put. At least it seemed unable to pinpoint him.

He sat and watched as the monster wandered around, never straying too far from the tree that he sat in. 'How difficult is it to kill this thing?' He wondered, before Observing the circling Grimm.

**Adult Beowolf Lv. 11**

**HP: 2000/2000**

**Stats:**

**STR - 31**

**VIT - 29**

**DEX - 25**

**INT - 14**

**WIS - 13**

**LUK- 3**

**A species of Grimm, beowolves are the most frequently encountered by huntsman. While individually strong, beowolves true strength lies in their numbers. They hunt and fight in packs, co-ordinating to overwhelm and defeat any opponent. Like all Grimm, beowolves grow smarter and stronger as they grow older, their various bone-like protrusions growing thicker and larger with age.**

**Kill to gain 450 EXP.**

Jaune stared blankly at the screen. This thing was only slightly weaker than Jaden.

'_Maybe I can sneak past it?'_

No such luck. His boots scraped softly against the tree bark when he tried to stand up from his crouch. The sound was barely audible, but the beowolf froze and looked over in the direction of the tree. Jaune didn't dare move again until it resumed wandering and sniffing at the ground. Sneaking away wouldn't work; that thing would notice him the second he moved from his current position.

He bit his lip as he considered his options. He could try just running away, but he didn't like his chances of outrunning that monstrous beast. Even if he kept to the trees, if there's one thing his training over the past week and a half had taught him, it was that he would eventually fall.

That… really just left trying to kill it. Jaune couldn't think of anything else. His lips tightened into a thin line. '_Fuck. Looks like it's time to put those skills to the test.'_

Whereas Jaune hadn't made much progress with Dash, the opposite had been true for Observe and Fireball, mostly due to him spamming them at every conceivable opportunity. He doubted there was a person in Shion High that he hadn't Observed, and he had spent his entire mana pool throwing fireballs at boulders on more than a few occasions.

**Observe Lv. 7 (0.6%)**

**This skill allows you to examine any person or object and obtain vital information about them. The quantity and quality of the information displayed depends on the level of both Observe and Observe's target.**

**Fireball Lv. 5 (MAX)**

**One of the most common and widely used skills during the time when magic was abundant and easily wielded, Fireball allows the user to generate a ball of fire in their hand and throw it. The size and strength of the fireball depends on the skill's level.**

**40% chance to set foes alight.**

**Damage: 100 overcharge**

**Max Overcharge: 50**

**Cost: (100 2/overcharge) MP**

Jaune had been surprised when Fireball had maxed out at level five just two days ago; he had expected the skill to still have a lot of room to grow, but obviously it was fairly limited. Upon it reaching level five, two other notifications had popped up as well.

**Achievement 'No Shortcuts' completed. You receive a Sigil of Ascendancy.**

Due to Fireball reaching its maximum level, you have received its evolved form, Firebolt.

The achievement had been for maxing out his first skill, and had rewarded him with a small square of brown cloth with a strange symbol on it. It looked like an hourglass composed of two triangles that had been tilted slightly to the left, with the bottom two vertices being replaced by circles. It was surrounded by a circle of strange, squiggly symbols that gave Jaune a slight headache when he looked at them.

Observing it had nearly made him squeal in joy.

**Sigil of Ascendancy (A)**

**An ancient relic created by those of the lost era. This rare and mystical enchantment allows the user to mold the power inside of themselves, strengthening and enhancing the very nature of their being.**

**Permanently increase the level of any skill by 1.**

He had immediately used it on his new skill.

**Firebolt Lv.2 (2.6%)**

**Firebolt, being the evolved form of Fireball, is much like its predecessor in many ways. In exchange for slightly reduced damage, Firebolt is faster, has better precision and is more efficient than Fireball.**

**20% chance to set enemies alight.**

**Damage: 40 overcharge**

**Max overcharge: 15**

**Cost: (15 Overcharge) MP**

He hadn't much opportunity to use it, seeing as he'd only just gotten it the other day, but the few test shots he had done had been more than satisfactory. It was superior to Fireball in every single way except for damage; a fully charged Firebolt cost over four times less mana than its Fireball equivalent had at level two, the chance to set enemies alight was slightly higher and, perhaps most importantly, it traveled like Jaune had first expected a Fireball to travel. He pointed his hand at a target and a small vortex of swirling flames flew at it like an arrow.

Of course, Firebolts alone wouldn't do nearly enough damage to kill the beast; he'd run out of mana long before it was dead. He'd need to use Fireball, but even then it wouldn't be enough. Of course, there was another skill he had in his repertoire.

**Stealth Lv. 4 (74.5%)**

**Stealth is the art of remaining unseen and unnoticed. This skill is useful for performing thefts, ambushes or assassinations, and provides bonus damage when active.**

**Additional 48% damage done to enemies that are unaware of your presence.**

**30% chance to not get caught.**

He had spent every night since the previous Wednesday sneaking around the upper floor of his family's house (It wasn't creepy, shut up). Now a critical stealth strike, combined with as many Dust enhanced Fireballs as he could muster? That would…

Jaune's shoulders slumped as he did some mental maths. His INT and WIS stats weren't so high that he could calculate an exact figure, but he had a rough estimate and it was still around five hundred points of damage short of killing the thing. He bit his lip; he would have to finish it off with Crocea Mors. The one thing he hadn't managed to improve on at all were his actual combat skills; he didn't know how to use the sword and shield anymore than he did when he first laid his hands on them.

'_Guess this will be a learning experience.'_

Jaune took a silent breath, and fixed his eyes on the prowling beowolf below. It was walking towards the tree he was in. Slowly, very slowly, he drew Crocea Mors from its sheath, wincing at all the little noises that the action produced. Once it was free, he reached into his inventory and pulled out the fire Dust crystal he had bought and clenched it in his left fist.

And there he sat, Crocea Mors in a reverse grip in one hand and Dust in the other, watching the beowolf stalk closer, every muscle in his body tensed and his mind racing a mile a minute.

'_I can't stab it in the head or neck, those things will skewer me,' _he thought, eyeing the bone spikes protruding from the beast's shoulders. '_I'll have to drop in behind them, aim for the spine or the heart. Maybe if I sever the spine it won't be able to move anymore. Do Grimm even work like tha-'_

The beowolf stopped moving a good ten yards from where he needed it to be. It just stood there, motionless. Its ears didn't twitch, its tail hung suspended in the air and its body was frozen.

Jaune lowered his raised hands in confusion. '_Wha-' _

The beowolf's head snapped up and looked directly at him. If there was Grimm version of a grin, it was wearing it now.

Jaune felt his entire body seize up in terror. "Oh fuck," he muttered out loud.

All of a sudden there was a thunderous roar from his left; he didn't even time to turn his head towards it before a huge black and white body slammed into his and sent him flying off the branch. He landed hard on the ground a second later, instinctively rolling to lessen the impact. It still hurt though.

**-188 HP**

Somehow he'd managed to keep his grip on Crocea Mors and the Dust crystal. Hurriedly scrambling to his feet, he looked to see what hit him and heard a pitiful whimper leave his mouth. His mind flashed back to the description Observe had given him and once again he cursed.

While individually strong, beowolves true strength lies in their numbers. They hunt and fight in packs.

There, standing side by side with the first, was another beowolf, and both of them were staring at him with hunger in their shining red eyes. For a second nothing moved, then almost simultaneously, they arched their backs and let loose howls. A moment later answering howls could be heard in the distance.

'_Ah, double fuck.'_

**Background music activated: Run Boy Run (Woodkid)**

Following the offered advice, Jaune hastily began backing away, not daring to take his eyes off of the pair of beasts in front of him. As soon as they lowered their heads the beowolves rushed at him, snarling and snapping, quickly eating up the ground between them. Still running backwards, Jaune gathered Mana into his left hand as quickly as he could and let loose a Firebolt at the one on his right, the Dust glowing as it enhanced the attack.

The little spiral of flames hit the Grimm on its left forelimb; it gave a pained yelp and stopped running. Instead it stood up on its hindlegs and began waving around its arm in an effort to get rid of the flames that now engulfed it.

**77 Damage Dealt.**

**Status effects 'Burning' and 'Maimed' inflicted on enemy. -25 HP per second for 25 seconds and -25% mobility.**

Jaune would have grinned if the other beowolf wasn't still thundering towards him. There were long furrows in the ground where it's claws had ripped up the earth, and it was close enough now that he could see how long it's teeth were.

They were really fucking long.

'Shield, shield, shield, shield!' He frantically chanted in his mind as the beowolf advanced on him. Sticking the Dust crystal between his teeth, he fumbled for the sheath at his side and managed to free it just as the snarling creature lunged at him.

**-115 HP**

The Grimm hit him with the force of a cannon ball and blew him off his feet. Crocea Mors flew out of his hand as his back slammed into the ground and he just barely prevented the sheath from doing the same; it was now lodged firmly between the jaws of the beowolf and was the only thing preventing it from tearing his throat out. Jaune's arms shuddered and shook with the effort of keeping the beowolf's teeth away from his jugular, but it wasn't enough; slowly and steadily the Grimm's ravenous maw forced its way closer to its next meal, i.e Jaune. All the while it chomped at the sheath like a horse would at the bit.

Jaune's predicament was in no way helped by the fact that he also had to deal with the broken shards of Dust in his mouth. The impact had forced his upper and lower jaw together, crushing the fire crystal that had been clenched between his teeth. Most of the pieces had ended up inside his mouth, cutting up his tongue and cheeks while burning like lit phosphorus, which was pretty damn hot. That was nothing compared to the shards that he'd swallowed though; he could feel them traveling down his oesophagus like shards of obsidian fresh from a volcano. It just got worse the further they traveled, growing hotter and hotter the closer they got to his stomach.

Jaune was distantly aware of an ear piercing scream ringing out through the woods as he felt the shards reach his stomach; heat exploded outwards from the organ and filled his entire body with boiling, seething energy. Steaming sweat flooded out of every pore in his body, soaking his clothes and most likely preventing them from spontaneously combusting. He screamed again; how was he still alive? How could anyone be in this much agony and still be alive?

**Gamer's Mind activated!**

The pain lessened, but only just enough so that it wasn't all-consuming. Blinking through sweat and tears, he could just make out the blurry white mask of the beowolf above him, and realized with a rush of panic that the tip of its snout was brushing his chin. Giving a snarl of his own, Jaune thumbed the button on the side of the sheath.

The sound of it expanding into its shield form was drowned out by the sickening snap that accompanied the beowolf's jaw fragmenting.

**Critical strike! 300 Damage Dealt!**

The Grimm hurriedly backed off while whimpering and whining in distress and anguish as its lower jaw flopped against its chest with wet smacking sounds. This gave Jaune the chance to focus on the literal fire that was spreading through his body; it was intense, raging, devastating. An inferno swirled through his body like a hurricane. All this heat was killing him, turning him to ash; he could feel his cells carbonising one by one. He needed to get rid of it. He needed to get rid of it now! He needed to get rid of it or it would kill him!

Through hazy eyes, he watched the beowolf shake its head back and forth, trying to figure out what was wrong with its mouth.

And he knew just the place to put it all.

Gripping the shield with both hands he staggered to his feet, strode forward with it raised above his head and drove the point straight between its eyes.

**Critical strike! 122 Damage Dealt!**

Status effects 'Blinded' and 'Concussed' inflicted upon enemy! Indefinitely blind and disorientated.

Jaune paid no attention to the notification; instead he dropped the shield, grabbed the now stupefied Grimm by its right ear and stuck his hand down its gullet. Even if the beowolf had retained its ability to make sense of outside stimuli and realized it could now chomp off its would-be prey's hand, it's shattered jaw wouldn't have worked anyway.

With a scream of agony, Jaune forced all of the heat out of his body through his left hand. It was terrible, like sticking your arm in front of a flamethrower, except it was the flamethrower. Flames poured forth into the beast's innards, or whatever passed for them. It twitched and shook terribly in Jaunes grip; he could feel the muscles in its throat clench and vibrate as it tried to scream and howl around his hand.

Jaune was doing enough screaming for both of them. This fire wasn't like Fireball or Firebolt; it burned him. He could feel the skin on his hand and wrist harden and crack as it turned into char.

After another second or two the fire abruptly cut off, but it had done its job; the beowolf's hind legs gave its final few kicks before it stilled.

**Fatal Strike! 450 EXP!**

**-200 HP**

You have received the status effect 'Maimed'. Left hand inoperable.

**Ping! New skill created. **

**Dust Chann-**

Jaune swiped away the notifications as soon as they popped up. He pulled his black and horribly burned hand out the sublimating corpse and sobbed as he gripped the unharmed flesh just below it. It hurt, more than anything he had ever felt. It was like the heat of the flames was still trapped inside the roasted meat of his hand.

He looked at his HP bar.

**227/750 HP**

He stared at it in dismay. There was an entire pack of those things on his tail. He needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. Carefully, so as not to hurt his hand, he picked up his shield and returned it to its sheath form before awkwardly attaching it to his belt. He looked around for Crocea Mors and hurried over to it, clutching his arm tightly.

He hadn't taken more than five steps before he heard rustling behind him. Whipping his head around, he saw the second beowolf loping towards him with distressing speed considering its one leg was curled up to its chest. Even more distressing, in the distance behind it, Jaune could see the rest of the pack approaching as well.

Foregoing his cautious treatment of his injury, Jaune sprinted the last few metres to Crocea Mors and scooped it up before continuing to run away as fast as he could. Not fast enough as it were; the sounds of the charging beowolf grew steadily louder behind him, and he turned to look over his shoulder at the exact moment it caught up to him. The Grimm slashed at him with its claws, catching Jaune across his torso and sending him flying.

**-150 HP**

Jaune cried out as his burned hand collided with the ground. He spent a split second indulging in the pain before his instincts pushed him to his feet. He winced as new hurt radiated outward from his chest, and a quick glance downward showed that there were two short gashes oozing blood from beneath the leather of the cuirass. It seemed the plates had prevented the beowolf from completely killing him, but he now had less than a hundred HP left. His MP was surprisingly full though.

**77/750 HP**

**500/520 MP**

Looking back at the Grimm in front of him showed its own HP.

**1475/2000**

Jaune felt his lower lip tremble. He took a few slow steps back while shaky breaths left his mouth. The panting beowolf mirrored his movements.

'_Ok, ok this isn't hopeless. Three critical hits and it's dead.'_ He glanced at his HP bar nervously. '_One hit and _I'm_ dead.'_

He looked back to the beowolf. '_So don't get hit then. Go for its legs. You can do this.'_

He must have caught the beowolf by surprise when he suddenly reversed directions and Dashed towards it, because it only reacted after Crocea Mors was buried halfway through its remaining front paw. As injured as he was at the moment Jaune couldn't muster the strength to completely dismember the limb, but it was enough to topple the beast. It gnashed its teeth at him as it fell, but its falling body pulled its head out of range of Jaune and it gave a yelp as it landed heavily on its maimed and burned left leg.

**210 Damage Dealt!**

Not a critical attack, but it was now showing its unarmored belly. Jaune thrust his sword, the gleaming steel meeting little resistance as it sunk into the black flesh and exposed the creatures burning red insides.

**Critical strike! 588 Damage Dealt!**

**677/2000 HP**

Jaune felt hope blossom in his chest, even as he pulled Crocea Mors free and went to stab the beowolf again. Just two more strikes and it was dead!

That hope died as the beowolf contorted its body into a U-shape and lashed out with the leg Jaune had just cut. Clumsily stumbling to the side to avoid it, Jaune's stab turned into a sloppy slash and opened a cut on the Grimm's side.

**210 Damage Dealt!**

While the Beowolf had missed him with its long forelimb, Jaune had stumbled right into its flailing hind legs. It's paws slammed into the center of his chest and once again sent him flying.

**-48 HP**

**29/750 HP**

He grunted as he landed, thankfully not on his charred left arm this time. Groaning as he did so, he rolled onto his front against his severely bruised ribcage's protests and stabbed Crocea Mors' tip into the ground, using it as a crutch to help him to his knees. A few metres away the beowolf was doing something similar, using an awkward rolling maneuver to get itself onto its legs. It seemed to be having trouble putting weight on its one remaining leg, so it took awhile before it managed to push itself up and remain standing on its hind legs.

In that time Jaune stayed as he was, using the opportunity to regain his breath and gather his energy. Even when the beowolf was standing, he didn't move; his opponent seemed temporarily content to do the same. They simply stood and knelt across from each other, eyes fixed on the other and breathing heavily.

A shuffling sound from behind him had Jaune spinning to his feet, Crocea Mors flashing through empty air. His entire body screamed out in protest at the sudden movement, but he ignored the pain. There was another beowolf, standing four metres away.

Motion caught out of the corner of his eye indicated another, emerging from the shadows of the trees. A growl to the other side; another. And another, and another, and another. He whipped his head around as each new one emerged. They completely surrounded him; the entire pack was here.

Jaune felt his heart sink, lower than it ever had before. He hadn't had time to worry about them while fighting the beowolf with the burned arm, but now they were here, and he didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to survive this? He was barely alive after facing two, the very idea of defeating an entire pack of beowolves was ludicrous. He couldn't fight them. He couldn't run from them.

A deep, twisted sickness that transcended his physical body took root in his soul as he realized that this was where he would die.

The beowolves around him, who up until this point had remained in their positions, began to advance on him, teeth bared and growls shaking the leaves around them. Dimly, Jaune registered the pure, unadulterated terror that some distant part of his brain felt, but it was a numb sensation. An unreasonably calm voice in his head wondered if he was dissociating.

A louder, angrier growl suddenly drowned them all out and halted them in their tracks. As one the pack and Jaune turned to face the source; the beowolf across from him. It stumbled around on its hind legs, growling at its brethren until they hesitantly backed off. Jaune watched in amazement as the surrounding Grimm settled themselves around the two, a few even sitting on their haunches as the watched on, almost curiously.

Jaune stared at his opponent in astonishment. '_Is this thing _helping_ me?_' He wondered. The beowolf then turned its furious gaze back on him and Jaune despondently realized that wasn't the case; this thing just wanted to kill him itself. He had burned, stabbed, slashed and maimed it; it was pissed and wanted revenge, without any of its packmates interfering.

Juane spun in quick circle, desperately looking for a way out.

He could Dash for the trees, but he doubted he would get very far. These things had proven they could jump just as high as he could and were a great deal faster.

Maybe he could distract some of them with Firebolts? He could set them alight and run while they panicked.

He took in all the creatures surrounding him and gave a half-terrified, half-frustrated grunt; there were too many of them, he'd be cut down before he made it ten metres.

His eyes desperately flicked back and forth looking for something, anything, that would get him out of this situation alive. He found none.

He was going to die.

The thought was like a spark touching a pool of gasoline, his terror abruptly exploding into a wild rage. He was going to die here, torn apart by these monsters and for what reason?! Because some asshole didn't want to lose some free time?! That was bullshit! Fucking bullshit! His family was going to lose him and the fucker couldn't be bothered!

'_Fuck you, Markus!'_

He turned back to the beowolf that he'd been fighting, and felt his anger intensify. '_Fuck these guys too!'_ He snarled. This wasn't how he wanted to die. If he had to die of anything other than old age, he wanted it to be while saving someone damnit, not as a fucking chew toy!

But that was what was going to happen. He was down one arm, exhausted, battered, bruised and the number twenty nine was all that kept his soul in his body. He was going to die, and the only impact he had made in this world was one less Grimm for people to worry about.

He was not fucking okay with that! He didn't want to die! These fuckers wanted to kill him? Bring it the fuck on, bitches! He was not going down without a fight!

He shakily raised his sword and pointed it at the injured beowolf in front of him, a vicious snarl contorting his lips. Red eyes narrowed at the challenge and an answering snarl sounded out.

'_At the very fucking least, I'm taking this one down,'_ Jaune resolved. '_Screw that, I'll take them all down! I'll kill every last one of them! I'll not go out easy!'_

Compulsively, he roared that last thought out to the surrounding monsters. "I'm not going out easy, you hear?! Try and kill me, I fucking dare you! I'll start with this one," he jabbed his sword tip toward the beowolf, "and then go after the rest of you! Do you hear me?! _I'm not going out easy!_"

A cacophony of growls answered him, but he didn't care anymore.

'_I'm not your prey. Even as you strike me down, I will have my vengeance. I'm not your prey.'_

Unbidden, a completely irrelevant memory of one of his English classes popped into his head. A poem, perhaps the only one he remembered. He began running toward the beowolf, the Grimm letting loose a savage bark before charging in kind. Jaune smiled grimly as he recalled the last two lines of the poem.

He was going to die today.

_Do not go gentle into that good night,_

But until the last breath left his body-

_Rage, rage against the dying of the light._

He was going to go absolutely ape-shit crazy.

He activated a Dash, shooting straight for his enemy with Crocea Mors extended. The beowolf's one remaining arm reared back as its eyes tracked him, having learnt from Jaune's earlier use of the skill. It waited the split second it took for him to get within range, and then with a victorious growl, slashed down with its clawed hand.

The beowolf was stronger than Jaune. Even with its injured arm, he didn't have a hope in hell of blocking the strike. It was also much faster than him; the only reason Dash worked the first time was because it had caught it by surprise. He couldn't dodge it. There was no way to avoid that strike.

It was a good thing then, that it completely missed.

Seeing the danger, Jaune stopped Dashing just as the beowolf's claws passed in front of his face. The attempted strike hit nothing but empty air. Beowolves weren't the most steady of creatures when on their hind legs, and it's arm's momentum threw it horribly of balance. It started to fall just as Jaune lunged forward with an upwards swing.

It was surprisingly easy to decapitate the beast.

**Critical Strike! 588 Damage Dealt!**

**450 EXP!**

Jaune grinned maniacally at the image, even as furious howls and growls started sounding out around him. That was one down, time to-

**Ping! **

**You have leveled up!**

**Jaune's grin dropped. 'What?'**

**Ping! **

**'High Five' - completed!**

**You receive:**

**3 Skill books**

**2000 EXP**

**5000 Lien**

**Class**

**Ping!**

**Due to uncovering the nature of your being, your Class has been automatically chosen and equipped.**

**Due to uncovering the nature of your being, you have unlocked your aura. **

**Ping! **

**Achievement 'Ascension' completed. You receive the perk 'My Strength is my Own'.**

**Ping! **

**You have leveled up!**

The notifications flashed past his face almost too fast for Jaune to read them. He was stunned by the sheer amount of them.

And then came the light.

It was sudden, causing him to gasp in surprise. A warmth burst outward from somewhere along his spine and rushed through him like a flood. It permeated him, flowing through each and every cell in his body, before finally reaching and bursting through his epidermis in a corona of icy-blue light.

The growls and snarls around him changed to yips and whines as the beowolves shied away from the light, but he paid them no mind; he was too busy reveling in it.

His aura.

He watched in awe as the black, bleeding mess that was his hand rapidly healed, the dead bits of charred skin falling off in clumps and new, healthy skin quickly growing over the exposed muscle. The aches in his body faded away and the two gashes on his midriff disappeared.

He stared down at his left hand, and then up at his HP bar.

It was completely full.

He was motionless for a second, before quickly opening his Stat page.

**Jaune Arc-**

That was the first and last thing he saw before his gaze was inexplicably drawn three slots down. He blinked, and the light around him, his aura, seemed to thrum as he read the single word that had been added to the line.

**Class/es: Wraith**

**AN: Exams are over and I return bearing great marks! **

**So here it is, Jaune finally receives his Class and his Aura, and a whole bunch of other stuff that will be covered in the next chapter. **

**Now I'd like to point something out. I don't remember who, but someone reviewed in a previous chapter that they thought Jaune's mentor would be Qrow. Obviously it isn't, but somewhere in that message they made an idle comment about how Qrow's method of training Jaune would be to just throw him into the forest to fend for himself, and I literally built this entire chapter around that one sentence. **

**My point: Review people! You guys often say a lot of good shit in your posts that gets my creative juices flowing, so feel free to leave your thoughts in the box below. **

**Just a side note, but someone with the pen name FURY OF 1000 CHIHUAHUA'S favorited this story. Whoever you are, I burst out laughing when I saw it. Best name I've seen so far. **

**And don't forget to let me know who you want in the harem. I'm not making any promises, but I'm curious.**

**Cheers!**


	8. Spirit of Vengeance

Spirit of Vengeance (Looking at you, Markus)

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15**

**Title: 'Opportunist'**

**Class/es: Wraith**

**Level 6 (425/3000 EXP)**

**Health: 1200/1200 (4%/min)**

**Mana: 700/700 (5%/min)**

**Aura: 550/550 (3%/min)**

**Stats:**

**STR - 19**

**VIT - 17**

**DEX - 15**

**INT - 19**

**WIS - 15**

**LUK - 8**

**Points - 19**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune is determined to make a difference, no matter how slight, in the world by becoming a huntsman. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**He is currently overwhelmed in every sense of the word.**

The Gamer's Reality couldn't have been more correct. Behind his Stats page sat the deluge of notifications that had assaulted him after he'd killed his second Beowolf of the day while under the impression he would die, having killed the first by channeling a veritable firestorm down its gullet via his left hand and all but destroying said appendage in the process. This was, of course, made possible by the shards of fire Dust he had accidentally swallowed; an item he had brought along on his test to prove he was worthy of being taught by a scummy asshole, who, by the way, had pushed him out of a bullhead that was hovering nearly forty meters up in the air.

And now here he stood, surrounded by an entire pack of Beowolves who were only kept at bay by the light now surrounding him (which they seemed to be quickly building a tolerance to), having been returned from the brink of death and facing an info dump the size of an Atlesian scrapyard.

His rational brain took a good, long squint at the last half-hour (had it really only been that long?) and quietly 'Noped' to the recesses of Jaune's subconscious, taking with it most of his higher functions such as multitasking, forethought, planning, etcetera. This left him in a reactionary state; unable to deal with anything other than what was right in front of him at that moment, which just so happened to be a single word.

"What the fuck kind of class is a Wraith?" He muttered, temporarily forgetting the horse sized killers surrounding him.

**Ping!**

**Due to unlocking your class, you have received 3 new skills:**

**\- Summon: Avarice**

**\- Blind Justice**

**\- Soul Forge**

**Please check your skill screen for more information.**

Still in his dazed state Jaune automatically began to comply, his hand raising to tap on his Skills tab, only to receive a harsh reminder of his situation in the form of a loud, growling roar one of the Beowolves let loose.

Jaune flinched violently, his gaze whipping to the monster. He immediately noticed the difference between it and the other members of the pack. It was bigger by a fair amount, and there was more bone armor protecting its neck and torso. It's brethren were still cowering from Jaune's now dimming aura, but the light just seemed to make this one angry.

His eyes flicked to the tag above its head.

**Alpha Beowolf Lv. 16**

**Background music activated: Eye of the Storm (Watt White)**

At the sight of the massive beast crouched low to the ground, ears flat, throat rumbling and furious crimson glare locked on him, he fully realized his circumstances and his survival instincts came rushing back in full force.

He was alive. They were distracted. Run.

He exploded into motion at the same moment the Alpha leapt at him. Activating Dash, he left the space he was standing in just in time for the Beowolf to occupy it. In an incredible display of speed and agility, it immediately leaped at him again, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

"Shit!" Jaune shrieked as he twisted to the left of the Beowolf's lunge, reacting purely on instinct. He felt it's sharp, pointed claws graze against his back and caught a ripple of light from the corner of his eye.

**-102 AP**

Jaune's eyes flicked to the box, and then widened as they caught sight of a black mass behind it, a black mass that was speedily approaching his face. The Alpha, using the momentum from its leap, spun sideways on its forepaws and slammed its flank into Jaune, effectively body checking him.

**-88 AP**

Jaune grunted in pain as he flew through the air, crashing into the ground not a moment later. His back had barely touched the dirt before he rolled back onto his feet, wide eyes giving the Alpha a fearful look. It was much faster than the two he had faced before it, and smarter too. He needed to get as far away from it as possible.

He turned and, spotting a gap between two Beowolves, dashed for it. Through his fear, he noticed that they were now fully recovered from whatever effects his aura had on them and were getting ready to pounce.

Barely thinking about it, he swung Crocea Mors through the left's foreleg and then used the backswing to hamstring the right one as he sped past, both of them collapsing with simultaneous yelps.

**Critical Hit! 588 Damage Dealt!**

**Critical Hit! 588 Damage Dealt!**

**Status effect 'Maimed' inflicted on enemy! -25% mobility!**

**Status effect 'Maimed' inflicted on enemy! -25% mobility!**

Jaune ran as fast as he could, briefly checking his mini-map to make sure he was heading in the right direction and consequently making a slight adjustment to his right.

Roars and howls rang out behind him, and Jaune actually stumbled as the Beowolves' combined bloodlust slammed into him like a physical force, then settled on him with a weight just as heavy.

**Bloodlust detected! 14 metres behind you and directed at you!**

**Ping! Skill 'Bloodlust' has leveled up!**

**Ping! Skill 'Bloodlust' has leveled up!**

Jaune barely noticed the notifications; they just added to the blur in his vision. He choked with fear even as his lungs screamed at him to provide fuel for his beating legs. Every single drop of his desire to live was screaming at him to run; all other thoughts fell away.

_'Run! Faster! Run, run, run! Go! Get away!'_

Even his inner voice sounded shrill and panicked.

Despite full-out sprinting between each dash, it wasn't long before the vicious snarls and growls caught up to him. Glancing over his shoulder, Jaune let out another shriek as the Alpha's fiery glare shone out from its ghostly mask not six, maybe seven meters behind him. The exact distance wasn't important; what was important was that it was _way too fucking close!_ Even worse, the rest were literally nipping at its heels.

Briefly transitioning to a backwards run, Jaune held out his hand and sent as many firebolts as he could muster at the tightly packed horde in an irregular spray, hoping at least one of them would catch alight.

Four small, flaming vortices shot forth. Jaune didn't pause to watch their journey, immediately turning around and resuming his sprint. Almost simultaneously, eight notification screens popped up in front of him.

**40 Damage Dealt!**

**40 Damage Dealt!**

**40 Damage Dealt!**

**40 Damage Dealt!**

**Status effect 'Burning' inflicted on enemy. -25 HP per second for 25 seconds.**

**Status effect 'Burning' inflicted on enemy. -25 HP per second for 25 seconds.**

**Status effect 'Burning' inflicted on enemy. -25 HP per second for 25 seconds.**

**Status effect 'Burning' inflicted on enemy. -25 HP per second for 25 seconds.**

A small amount of surprise and a slightly larger amount of satisfaction surfaced from the flood of his terror at seeing the last few messages. Four for four? What were the odds of that? It appeared Beowolves were highly flammable.

'_Huh, who would have guessed?'_ Jaune mused.

While pained yips and whines now joined the snarls behind him, the latter's pursuit didn't sound like it had been much hindered; they still followed and still sounded _much_ to close. Another glance over his shoulder revealed the Alpha was still chasing him, maybe a little further behind than before. The group behind it was noticeably smaller, and further back Jaune caught a glimpse of several flaming forms frantically rolling in the dirt.

Despite the situation, a small smirk appeared on his lips. It was quickly replaced by a panicked yelp when one of the smaller beowolves lunged at him, it's jaws snapping shut a foot behind his neck. Quickly putting some distance between him and it with another dash, his mind started racing as fast as his legs. He wouldn't last much longer at this rate; he was barely keeping ahead as it was! His lungs were steadily losing their ability to retain air and sweat was pouring down his face. He needed to recuperate and figure out a way to survive the horde behind him.

Jaune started eyeing the trees ahead of him. If he could climb high enough up one of them, it would put him out of their reach long enough to come up with a plan.

It would also give him the chance to fucking _breath_.

Quickly spotting a low-hanging bough several meters away, he activated Dash and leapt a split-second later. Sailing through the air and landing on it feet-first, Jaune started swinging his arms in circles to try and stabilize himself, not having too much success.

"No, no, no, _whoa_-'kay," he muttered frantically as his body pitched forward and backward, throwing itself into steep arches to balance out his shifting center of gravity.

He just managed to maintain his balance long enough to flail his way to the trunk of the pine tree and cling to it. He made it in the nick of time; no sooner had he hugged the trunk than one of the Beowolves slammed into the branch, causing it to shudder violently. Jaune would have let out another emasculating sound, but at this point he honestly couldn't be bothered anymore.

The Beowolf wrapped itself around the branch by its middle, its hindlegs scrabbling madly at the air in a vain search for purchase while its long forelimbs fumbled for grip on the branch, struggling to keep itself from falling. The branch bent dangerously low under its weight, the wood creaking and groaning.

Jaune swung Crocea Mors into the bend of the branch with all his strength, the blade biting into the wood. It didn't sever the tree limb, but it weakened it enough that the Beowolf's weight became too much; with a startled yelp, it and the branch crashed to the floor, leaving Jaune with a short little outcropping of wood to stand on.

**74 Damage Dealt!**

He spent a second pressed up against the trunk, panting and staring wide-eyed down at the beast's thrashing form. Then he turned and started climbing, all too aware of the barks, growls and howls below him. Pines were dense trees; its branches were grouped closely together and the hard, wrinkled bark made for excellent handholds. Jaune ascended quickly, staunchly ignoring the shudders sent through the tree by the heavy impacts at its base. He climbed until his arms failed him and his lungs demanded he stop. Making one final heave, he pulled himself onto a branch about halfway up the tree.

Panting, he glanced down at the ground twenty metres below. The pack completely surrounded the base of the tree, taking turns clawing and throwing themselves at the trunk. He could clearly hear their frustrated growls and snarls; they filled the air like some Oum-awful choir. The only exception was the Alpha; it stood on its hind legs, calm and unmoving. It didn't make the same threatening noises as its underlings, simply staring up at him with an unwavering, loathing glare.

The distance between them seemed a little less sufficient than it had a second ago.

Jaune shivered and pulled his head back to rest against the trunk. He stayed like that for a short while, working on evening out his breathing and heart rate. Once he no longer felt like he was breathing through a pillow, he brought up his stat screen.

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15**

**Title: 'Opportunist'**

**Class/es: Wraith**

**Level 6 (425/3000 EXP)**

**Health: 1200/1200 (4%/min)**

**Mana: 120/700 (5%/min)**

**Aura: 360/550 (3%/min)**

**Stats:**

**STR - 19**

**VIT - 17**

**DEX - 15**

**INT - 19**

**WIS - 15**

**LUK - 8**

**Points - 19**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune is determined to make a difference, no matter how slight, in the world by becoming a huntsman. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**He is currently up shit tree without a rope.**

Pointedly ignoring the sarcastic assessment of his situation, Jaune set about assigning points, putting eight into DEX, seven into VIT and four into STR.

**STR - 23**

**VIT - 24**

**DEX - 23**

He gasped at the sharp electric surge that spread through his body with the changes. His fatigue lessened considerably and his clothes tightened around his frame. Sighing with relief, he then navigated to his map page, and grinned at seeing he was little more than a kilometer from Shion's West gate. Lifting his head in the direction of the town, he was pleasantly surprised to find he could see a bit of white masonry peeking through the gaps in the trees.

A massive grin split his face as hope filled him. His goal was in sight! He could do this! He just had a little further to go; then he could finish this stupid test, punch Markus in the face and go home to a nice bubble bath, specifically in that order.

But he needed to get there first. He wasn't out of the woods yet.

Jaune grinned at his clever little joke. Coincidentally, a busty Signal academy student shuddered, blushed and asked for a bathroom pass at that exact moment.

_'Still got to get past the Beowolves,'_ he mused. _'I doubt they're going away anytime soon, and like hell am I setting foot on the ground until I'm safe. Maybe one of those skills I got could be useful? I saw the word 'summon' in there somewhere; if that does what- Why is the tree shaking harder than before?'_

Jaune glanced down with a frown and nearly shat a brick.

"Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to give Beowolves the ability to climb tree's?!"

Granted, the Alpha did look like it was struggling. It's claws gouged deep furrows into the wood, finding very little purchase and slipping regularly, and it grasped for tree branches with awkward, clumsy movements. Nevertheless, it had made it twelve metres above ground level, which was twelve metres higher up than it had any right to be. It was a fucking canine for fucks sake! Canines don't fucking climb trees!

A part of Jaune was amazed that he was able to inspire so much hate in a living organism that it went and defied its very nature just to kill him. That part was small however; the rest of him was just plain pissed.

The Alpha locked gazes with him and snapped its jaws.

"Oh, fuck off!" Jaune snapped back, intuitively understanding the creature's non-verbal expression of its desire to eat him. And it would get its wish if he didn't think of something soon; he could no longer get down to the ground with the Alpha climbing up the trunk. He was stuck.

Keeping one arm wrapped around the trunk he stood up on the branch and began looking around. He quickly realized that he'd screwed the pooch in coming up the tree as high as he did. The copse of pines that he was currently trapped in weren't as densely packed as the rest of the forest. Down below, near the base, the branches were wide-spread enough that he could have jumped from one tree to another with little problem, but the tree tapered to a point the higher up it went. From where Jaune stood, a successful jump to another tree was highly improbable.

Jaune's lips twisted into a grimace as he judged the distance to the closest tree. It was nearly fifteen meters away. If he had ten meters for a run up he could probably make it if he used Dash, but otherwise the jump was impossible. Even if he did want to risk using the skill on a branch that was only as wide as his leg, he would only make it a few meters before it became too weak to support his weight.

Letting out a half frustrated-half desperate groan he glanced down at the Alpha. It's progress was slow and awkward, but the distance between them was closing.

_'Observe.'_

**Alpha Beowolf Lv. 16**

**HP: 3750/3750**

**Stats:**

**STR - 42**

**VIT - 37**

**DEX - 34**

**INT - 21**

**WIS - 20**

**LUK- 5**

**A species of Grimm, beowolves are the most frequently encountered by huntsman. While individually strong, beowolves' true strength lies in their numbers. They hunt and fight in packs, co-ordinating to overwhelm and defeat any opponent. This Grimm has lived for over half a century, and as such, has surpassed its brethren in all conceivable aspects and become an alpha.**

**Kill to gain 4500 EXP.**

_'Well, shit.'_

That thing was way above his pay-grade. Jaden? This monstrosity would rip the giant kobold to pieces. Jaune's mind raced as he regarded the Alpha's HP. He briefly considered letting it get within range so he could just stab it death, but then dismissed the idea. He would have to land somewhere close to ten critical hits in a row to kill it; the Alpha just had to land one and he would fall. Even if he did survive a plummet from this height, he doubted he would be able to get away from the rest of the pack that swarmed below.

Jaune once again regarded the distance between him and the next tree, running a hand through his hair nervously. It was looking like his only option, and a very bad one at that.

_'The Gamer's Reality was right,' _he thought, fingers buried in his blonde locks. '_Up shit tree without a-' _his hand froze. _'...rope.'_

**Ping!**

**You have gained 1 INT!**

Jaune's eyes roved the tree opposite him, before spotting a branch that would suit his needs. The limb was dead, devoid of twigs and needles, but it looked sturdy enough. Hurriedly sheathing Crocea Mors at his waist, Jaune opened his inventory and began searching through it, finding what he was looking for after a few seconds and pulling it out.

The Flinty Flail of Flogging.

'Oum, I hope this works.'

It was long, hopefully long enough to make up the difference between how far he jumped and the distance he needed to cover. He'd still need to use Dash, but now he had a chance of making it. He gave the whip a few stress tests by pulling it in opposite directions, before looping it into a coil which he held in his right hand. He glanced down at the Alpha again. It was close now; if it reached up, it's long forelimbs would come just short of the branch he stood on. The entire tree swayed back and forth with its awkward movements.

Jaune gulped and settled into a running stance, eyes fixed on the end of the branch. He felt the now familiar fear settle in his gut, but harshly stamped it down. He didn't have room for fear now.

Taking a deep he activated Dash and shot forward. The branch shuddered terribly as his legs slammed into it. He had only taken a few steps before he felt the branch become too weak to support him. He leapt.

Jaune watched desperately as the tree approached, helpless to do anything except flail his limbs. He watched as he drew nearer to the branch. He felt gravity start to take hold. He saw the pine needles start to travel upward instead of toward him. He waited one second longer, then threw his hand forward, the soft leather of the whip uncoiling and reaching for the dead branch that was now above him.

Success! Relief surged through Jaune as he saw the tip wrap around the branch, the sharp bits of stone digging into the rough bark. The leather cord pulled taut and Jaune stopped falling.

_'Yes!_' Thought Jaune as he swung into the trunk.

The leather cord snapped and Jaune resumed falling.

_'No!'_ Thought Jaune as he crashed into the branch below, losing his grip on the small length of leather in his hand.

**-34 AP**

**-59 AP**

**-47 AP**

**-56 AP**

In a manner reminiscent of his fall (push) from the bullhead, Jaune crashed through the tree, bouncing off of one branch and into another and then another after that, before finally managing to grab onto one of the branches and stay put.

Hastily pulling himself onto it, he grabbed the trunk in a bear hug, his entire body shaking with adrenaline and fright.

"I'm… so fucking… _over this!_" He growled out in between pants. He winced and lowered a hand to cup his ribs. Even if his aura had protected him from harm, falling through a tree was damn painful.

A terrific howl snapped his attention to the tree he had just vacated. The Alpha was glaring back at him, limbs splayed across different branches. It barked furiously at him, frustrated that its prey had yet again eluded it. With nary a look downwards, it jumped out of the tree and landed lightly on all fours, completely unfazed by the height that would have killed him.

It's paws had barely touched the ground before it was loping toward him again, the betas unquestioningly following their leader.

The chase resumed.

"Oh, come on!" Jaune whined, even as he forced himself to his feet and jumped to the next tree. His body still shaking in the throes of an adrenaline rush, his leg buckled at the knee and nearly sent him crashing to his death. He barely managed to recover and move to the next one, nearly falling again. Once more he refused to obey gravity and leapt to the next tree. The beowolves caught up at this point, one body-slamming the trunk of his current domain in an effort to shake him loose. Jaune gripped the trunk tightly and waited for the shudders to subside before moving on.

It was a miracle he made it as far as he did. Astonishingly, it was the longest run through the treetops he had ever made, a fact made ironic by how difficult it was. Countless times he had found himself on the verge of descending into the Grimm's awaiting jaws, and countless times he had stubbornly refused to fall. He did _not_ survive this long just to die a mere three hundred meters from his goal. He could _see_ the walls. As soon as he broke through the tree line, the huntsman patrolling the walls would see him and deal with the pack. He would live!

As if his thoughts had been the setup to some cosmic joke, Jaune fell, though not through any fault of his own. The Alpha, which had been keeping pace directly below him the entire time, must have somehow sensed that its infuriatingly elusive prey was on the brink of escaping. It suddenly ran ahead, aiming straight for the trunk of the tree to Jaune's left. Once again, it proved that its capabilities far surpassed what its canine appearance suggested when it leapt and pushed off the tree, flying straight at Jaune with a snarl.

He barely had enough time to be surprised before the dark, muscle-bound body slammed into him with the force of comet. For a split second, both he and the Alpha were airborne together, traveling forward as a single mass. Then they separated, and one could see Jaune's form flicker with an icy-blue light as his aura broke.

-**164 AP**

**-39 HP**

**Ping!**

**You have depleted your aura reserves! Aura regeneration rate reduced to 0% for 30 minutes.**

For the upteenth time that day, Jaune slammed back first into the ground.

**-49 HP**

Shaking the stars out of his eyes, he looked up just in time to see the forerunners of the pack bounding toward him, the Alpha struggling to its feet some distance to his left.

"No, no, no, no," Jaune muttered in a panic, scrambling to his feet with wide eyes. He immediately activated a Dash, turning four meters into fourteen. In four seconds the Beowolf leading the chase shortened the space to six, before it once again jumped up to sixteen. Jaune's eyes locked on to a flash of white between the trees in front of him. The wall! He was so close!

His legs pumping with renewed vigor, Jaune dashed again. The wall was riddled with all sorts of sensors, and even a few turrets; he just needed to break the tree line and they would pick him and his pursuers up. Huntsman would come running. He just needed to survive for a little longer.

Grinning, he tried to Dash again.

Tried.

**Insufficient mana available. Dash failed!**

Jaune felt his blood freeze. '_What?'_ His eyes shot to his mana bar.

**5/700 MP**

Jaune looked at the number in horror. "Oh shit." The loud huffing, pants behind him grew closer.

Fear lent him a burst of speed, pushing his legs to their absolute limit, his muscles feeling like they were tearing. A glance behind him showed the beowolves steadily closing the distance between them, the forerunner not five steps behind him. Jaune watched as its body dropped lower on its next step. He saw the black skin across its shoulders and legs pull taut as muscles coiled up underneath. Time didn't slow down, he didn't suddenly see every minute detail of the creature. All he saw was a black and white blur flying through the air toward him.

Jaune's instincts kicked in as the Beowolf was at the peak of its leap. His hand had just started to jerk toward Crocea Mors' hilt when a streak of fire and metal hit it side on and the Grimm exploded into black smoke and bone fragments.

Jaune fell on his butt, staring in surprise at the lingering black cloud, a white smoke trail running through it like an arrow. Through it, he could see the rest of the pack also staring at the gaseous corpse in what seemed to be confusion. The Alpha was standing a bit to the left, ears flat against its skull and growling louder than a jet engine. To Jaune's astonishment, it was slowly backing away from him, head whipping this way and that as it looked for something in the surrounding woods. It almost looked _scared_.

Jaune looked in the direction the projectile had flown from, but saw nothing. A canine yelp suddenly broke the silence, originating from somewhere near the back of the gathered Grimm. A soft hissing sound, like falling sand, filled the air, before another yelp sounded out. As one, the beowolves spun around to confront whatever was killing them, their massive bodies blocking Jaune's view.

Another one of the Grimm screamed. Not a yelp, but a long, loud, high-pitched keen that was filled with pain. It cut off abruptly and was replaced by the sound of falling sand. Two dull, fleshy impacts were punctuated by short, canine whimpers. A voice, a human voice, grunted and another Beowolf died. The hissing sound now filled the air and Jaune could see thick, black smoke wafting up through the branches. The ones nearest to whoever was killing them threw themselves at the threat, teeth and claws bared, while the ones closest to him could do nothing but jump around and bark, the melee being too thick to enter. The Alpha simply paced back and forth with a growl, eyes fixed on the mob of monsters that were rapidly thinning.

**Wraith theme activated: Dead Man Walking (WAR*HALL)**

Jaune should have run. He should have taken the opportunity and covered the last thirty meters to the wall. He shouldn't have stayed, but he did. All thoughts of getting away left his mind; he couldn't just leave whoever had saved him to fight the pack by himself. What kind of ungrateful coward did that? The notion didn't even cross his mind. He quickly got to his feet, unsheathed Crocea Mors and deployed the shield, a grim expression on his face. Then he hesitated. What did he do now?

The decision was made for him a second later. Two of the beowolves who weren't involved in trying to rip their attacker to shreds obviously got bored of doing nothing but bark, because they swung their heads around and fixed their ruby gaze on him. Jaune gulped and tightened his grip on the sword and shield, but didn't retreat. Giving one more bark, they both rushed at him with bared teeth. One jumped at him in the pounce he had come to expect from them, while the other stood up on its hind legs and swung its claws at his chest. Jaune quickly jumped back from the swipe and swung Crocea Mors at the other while it was still in midair, opening up a gash on its flank.

**212 Damage Dealt!**

The Beowolf crashed to the ground with a pained whine, dragging a short skid mark through the dead vegetation that littered the forest floor. The one that had swiped at him before tried to do so again, this time bringing both sets of claws down in an overhead strike. Jaune hastily dodged to the left, tripping over his own feet and falling on his side.

"Fuck!" He shouted.

The Beowolf rose up on its hind legs triumphantly, ready to bring its claws down one final time. Jaune brought up his shield in an attempt to protect himself from the incoming blow, but the action proved unnecessary. Just as before, a fiery streak of metal came screaming in from the left and went straight through the monster before impacting a tree. The Grimm instantly exploded into a cloud of black mist.

Startled, Jaune whipped his head to the side, where the projectile was embedded in the tree trunk. It was a short, matte black metal rod with a large, triangular blade lodged deep in the wood and small curls of smoke wafting from the trumpet flare at the opposite end. There was a glowing purple crystal set just above the flare. The entire thing was shaking back and forth, as if trying to worm itself deeper into the wood.

Last Bet.

Jaune felt slightly less inclined to help fight the pack.

Looking in the direction the short spear had come from, he saw that the beowolves had thinned out remarkably. Where there had been close to thirty before, no more than eight now stood. The Alpha had joined the fight at some point. They surrounded Markus, one or two darting in to engage him while the others circled and looked for an opening. He was currently fending off two of the beasts with the other half of Last Bet with an annoyed expression, while his free hand was waving frantically in Jaune's direction, as if trying to recall a disobedient dog. He could see a faint purple light shining from the man's wrist.

He looked back at wiggling the rocket spear.

_'Oh!'_

Quickly scrambling to his feet and sheathing Crocea Mors, he rushed over to the weapon and began to tug at it, grunting when it wouldn't come free. Bracing one foot against the trunk he pulled again, wiggling it up and down to try and loosen the tree's grip on the blade. A snarl prompted him to look over his right shoulder; the Beowolf he'd slashed was back on its feet and racing toward him. Gritting his teeth, he redoubled his efforts and managed to wrench the spear free just as the Grimm reached him, spinning and impaling it through the neck with a desperate lunge.

**Critical Strike! 2864 Damage Dealt!**

**450 EXP!**

Jaune blinked at the colossal number as the Grimm began to vaporize. In a few seconds, all that was left of it were its bone mask and a few of the spikes that had adorned its upper back, the soft golden glow around them telling him they were his loot. He stared at them for a second before shaking himself back to reality and scooping them into his inventory.

"Markus!" He yelled, running over to where the huntsman was struggling to defend against the simultaneous onslaught of the Alpha and four remaining Beowolves. The man looked up just in time to see Jaune toss the other half of his set towards him. Jaune immediately unsheathed Crocea Mors and followed, intent on helping finish off the remaining Grimm. He needn't have bothered.

Markus gracefully plucked the short spear out of the air and proceeded to destroy his remaining assailants. He spun, beheading one of the Beowolves with contemptuous ease while another pounced at him from behind and summarily impaled itself on the other spear he thrust out behind him. Not pausing for a second, he ripped the spear out of the dissolving body and threw both of the weapons at the other two Beowolves.

One was impaled in between the shoulder and neck, the other through its chest. If they didn't die on entry they died on exit; not a second after the thrown weapons hit, the purple crystals in their hafts glowed brightly and Last Bet were ripped out of the Grimm, the serrations on the blades doing untold damage. The Alpha, it's entire pack now dead, roared in fury, and oddly enough, turned to run. It didn't make it three meters.

Markus jumped. He jumped higher than Jaune had ever jumped with Dash, a small burst of yellow light emanating from his feet. Holding Last Bet in a reverse grip, he slammed down into the Alpha's back, the spade like blades bursting through its underbelly. It howled in pain but didn't die. Instead of pulling them out, Markus pushed the spears in opposite directions with a grunt of exertion. In an incredible display of strength, the spears rotated around the Alpha's middle.

The two halves of its body had barely touched the ground before they began dissolving.

Jaune just stood there, his sword and shield hanging limply by his sides. All of a sudden everything was silent. After all the snarling and growling and roaring and howling, it was unsettling to hear nothing but his heavy breathing.

Markus stood ten meters away, tall, fierce and suddenly a lot more impressive than his first impression. Other than a slight sheen of sweat on his brow, he showed no sign of having expended energy. He had just killed an entire _pack_ of Beowolves and looked like the most strenuous thing he'd done was spend some time in a hot kitchen. _This_ was what Jaune wanted to be. _This_ was a huntsman. The two looked at each other in silence, one in awe and the other with an unreadable expression.

Without saying a word, Markus walked past Jaune, heading for the wall. At a loss for anything to say or do, Jaune followed. They broke the tree line and were immediately spotted by a huntsman patrolling along the top. He made a series of gestures in their direction and Markus gave a thumbs up in response before continuing on to the west entrance. When they got there, he turned and gently leant against the stone beside the massive wooden gates and fixed Jaune with a stare. Not a glare or a scowl, just a blank, appraising stare, which was infinitely more disturbing.

Jaune fidgeted under his gaze, desperately waiting for him to say something. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore.

"So… here we are."

He nodded. "Here we are."

"...Alive."

Again, he nodded.

"And, like… three kilometers from where you literally threw me into the forest. Just like you said. I'm here."

Another nod. Jaune snapped.

"Oh, for fucks sake! Say something, man! I just put my life in mortal peril to pass this stupid test of yours, the least you could do is-"

"I was never going to let you pass."

Everything Jaune was going to say withered and died on his tongue. His thoughts ground to a halt in his mind and he momentarily fell silent.

"What?" He whispered.

Markus continued as if he stated a commonly known fact. "You were never going to pass. I was following you the entire time. Even if you had made it all the way back here by yourself, I would have found something to fail you on. You would have either made it all the way here without running into anything or I would have had to step in and save you. Either way, I was going to fail you."

Jaune took a step closer. "So you're telling me," he said, deceptively soft, "that you pushed me out of a bullhead for nothing? That I fought for nothing? That I bled and screamed and hurt FOR NOTHING?!"

**Ping!**

**Skill 'Bloodlust' has leveled up!**

Other than a raised eyebrow, Markus remained unfazed. "No, not for nothing." He then shook his head. "What the hell, kid?"

"Excuse me?" He shouted indignantly.

He suddenly pushed off the wall and took a step towards Jaune. Jaune took a step back. "You heard me. Al told me that you hadn't trained a day in your life, that you were a scrawny little runt with naive dreams and little else."

He looked away with a disgruntled expression. That had all been true at the time, but still. _Ouch_.

"So please," Markus continued, pointing off in the direction of the forest, "tell me. What the hell was that?"

Jaune scowled. "What are you talking about?"

Markus took another step closer, and he just barely prevented himself retreating. The man loomed over him, not glaring, but looking at him with such intensity he felt he might burst into flames. "You, a fifteen year old schoolboy, killed two Beowolves, without any training or aura. You outran and outsmarted an entire pack for three kilometers. You channeled Dust barehanded, maimed yourself in the process and then continued to fight in spite of that fact." Now Jaune could have been imagining this, but he thought there was a hint of amazement in Markus' next statement. "You unlocked your own aura."

Jaune stood there uncomfortably, not quite knowing what to say. "So?"

Markus' eyes narrowed. "So," he said slowly, "Al either grossly misjudged you or you have one freakishly steep learning curve. No one in your condition should be able to do what you just did. _No one_."

He was right of course. Jaune knew that if he didn't have the Gamer's Reality he wouldn't be standing here. Hell, he probably wouldn't have even met Markus, which, honestly, he might have been okay with.

But, here the two were, and if Jaune wanted to become a huntsman, he supposed he'd just have to bite the bullet. In all fairness, the man was actually acting civil now. In fact, his words sounded dangerously close to praise.

"So, does this mean you are going to train me?" He asked hopefully.

Markus' face twisted into an ugly grimace and he looked away. After a few seconds he sighed through his nose and nodded, looking as if the action caused him physical pain.

**Ping!**

**'Trial by Asshole' - Completed!**

**You receive:**

**1000 EXP**

**5000 Lien**

**Skillbook: Vortex**

**Air Dust (D)**

**Bonus Objective - Completed!**

**You receive:**

**Ataltuam Ore (18 kg)**

**Exceptionally Balanced Throwing Knife (B)**

"Boy, after what I saw, it would be wrong _not_ to train you." The sentence, while worded as a compliment, sounded more like an extremely reluctant admittance.

Jaune didn't care. He was too busy trying to keep himself from celebrating. With much effort, he ignored the urge to jump and cheer and laugh. As it was, he couldn't stop a beaming grin from splitting his face. It must have been too much happiness for Markus the grumpy troll, because he scowled as if someone was shining a bright light in his face.

"Stop that!" He snapped, Jaune doing his best to oblige. "This is nothing to be grinning about; a huntsman's life is not pretty. The Grimm you faced today are a cakewalk compared to what's out there; the chances of you dying or being crippled are high. Hell, you might not even make it through this training!" He glared at Jaune, before letting out a sigh. "This is the only time I'm going to ask you: Are you sure this is what you want?"

Jaune nodded without hesitation. "I'm sure."

Markus sighed once more before taking out his scroll and pressing a button on the screen. "I have afternoon patrol on Thursdays and Mondays. Every other day of the week I'll meet you outside the Barracks," he said as he walked through the opening gates. "You know where that is?"

Jaune nodded. It was just down the street from the hangar.

"You will meet me there at two-thirty, and I'm going to torture you until six. On Saturdays and Sundays it will be from eleven in the morning to three in the afternoon. Dress light and bring a bucket; you're going to puke a lot."

The sadistic glee that came uninhibited to Markus's face started to work its magic, and Jaune felt his irritation begin to surface. _'Asshole.'_

"Yes, sir," He muttered sarcastically. Now back behind Shion's walls, he felt himself relaxing in a familiar, safe environment. He didn't have to fear for his life here, he didn't need to wonder if every little sound was looking to eat him. He could take his time, go where he wanted and do as he pleased. Oh, he needed to go have a look at his skills and rewards! He had seen some juicy looking loot fly past in those notifications. And his class! He needed to figure out what that was all about!

He glanced to the bottom of his field of vision where the shrunk-down stack of notifications sat. He'd have a look at those on the rail back to Nordain, but for now he'd just enjoy being alive. He grinned as he remembered how much money he'd just received. Five freaking thousand Lien! That was a fuckton of cash! He could by some great equipment with that, maybe a new laptop too, and all the Dust he could wan-

Wait.

Jaune froze in his tracks as his mind suddenly recalled a few facts that had some potentially deadly implications. Deadly for Markus that is.

The man in question had continued walking on, either not noticing or not caring that Jaune was no longer beside him. Jaune was willing to bet his newly acquired fortune that he'd noticed.

"Markus."

There was a second's silence as if he were debating whether to ignore him or not, then…

"What?" He asked with a sigh.

"You said you followed me the entire way."

"Yes, how observant of you."

"So you saw me flambé my own arm?"

"I do believe I said as much."

Jaune let out a growl. "So you just sat there and watched? What the fuck, jackass? You said you would have stepped in if my life was in danger! How the fuck does that not qualify?"

Markus turned, folded his arms and smirked. "I would have, but you looked like you still had some fight left in you. I was curious to see how far you'd go. I figured I could just unlock your aura afterwards to heal your arm, but I guess you took care of that yourself," he explained with a half shrug. Once again, he seemed slightly incredulous over that last fact, not that Jaune noticed.

He was too busy listening to the blood rush through his ears.

Have you ever been so angry you were rendered speechless? It's a terrible feeling. There's a million things you want to shout and scream at the same time, none of them seeming adequate enough to properly express your fury. The words get stuck in your throat, fighting with each other to escape and staying locked in a stalemate. The longer you're unable to say anything, the more your frustration builds and feeds back into the anger in a vicious cycle, until you're left with only one option.

Jaune cocked his fist back and swung at Markus's smirking face. This prick had watched as he'd mortally injured himself, and decided to sit back and let him fight a pack of Beowolves because he was 'curious'. That wasn't even half the reason he was angry! He looked so damn proud of himself, as if it had been his crowning moment of dickheadedness! Who the fuck would be proud of that? This piece of shit, evidently! Well, Jaune would show him! He'd-

Jaune never got to find out what he'd do to huntsman. Without so much as blinking, Markus swayed around the fist, drove the heel of his palm into his diaphragm and swept him off his feet with his leg, all in one impossibly fluid motion.

Jaune was dimly aware of startled noises coming from around them, but ignored it in favor of gasping and clutching his quivering solar plexus. Light slowly chased away the darkness before his eyes to revealing Markus' grinning face looking down on him.

"What are you doing on the floor, boy?"

Jaune had absolutely no air in his lungs, so it was a testament to his disdain that he managed to gasp out a single sentence.

"Your mother would have been better off with the placenta."

~ Line Break ~

**Wraith**

**Since before recorded history, the Wraith has existed with singular purpose in mind: Vengeance - for those who have been wronged and against those who have wronged them. Only one may play host to this spirit, using its power to deal out justice where justice is needed. Once fully aligned, the host will become the Wraith, and the Wraith the host. And the wicked they shall reap.**

**_"Your soul shall be weighed. Pray you are not found wanting."_**

Jaune frowned as he absently rubbed his torso. The description was badass, sure, but it told him absolutely nothing about the class. Beside the description was the slowly rotating figure of a translucent warrior, armed to the teeth and wearing a swathe of cloth around his head. A bow and quiver were slung over his shoulder, a wicked curved sword sat at his left hip and a hatchet at his right. Though the cloth shrouded is face in darkness, two slanted eyes shone out from the shadow, like comets of burning cobalt.

Again, cool, but not really informative. At his best guess, his class gave him the abilities of some sort of phantom. He remembered the three skills he had received when he'd unlocked his class; he'd check those out along with the other skills he'd gotten after looking through his inventory.

Backing out of his class description, Jaune looked over the other grayed-out options below his class.

**Warrior**

**Ranger**

**Berserker**

**Opportunist**

**Dust Wielder**

There were a few more options, but Jaune didn't give them more than a cursory glance. If he remembered correctly, he'd be able to unlock another class later on once he'd completed some or other quest line for his current class.

**Ping! Quest Alert!**

Ah, here it was!

**Wraith: The First Kill**

**Quest Objectives: Travel to the location marked on your Map and search for the Echo.**

**Completion Rewards: ?, 3000 EXP**

**Failure Penalty: You will not progress.**

Jaune blinked at the page, surprised at its plainness. Like a few other of his quests, there was no option to accept or decline, it had just been thrust upon him. Not that he wouldn't have taken it of course. It seemed easy enough, he just needed to figure out what this 'Echo' was.

Closing the notification, he made to open his Map, before pausing to take a look at his stats.

**Jaune Arc**

**Age: 15**

**Title: 'Opportunist'**

**Class/es: Wraith**

**Level 6 (1425/3000 EXP)**

**Health: 1200/1200 (6%/min)**

**Mana: 700/700 (5%/min)**

**Aura: 550/550 (3%/min)**

**Stats:**

**STR - 23**

**VIT - 24**

**DEX - 23**

**INT - 20**

**WIS - 15**

**LUK - 8**

**Points - 0**

**Jaune Arc is the fourth child born to Malcolm and Vanessa Arc, and the only brother of seven sisters. Jaune is determined to make a difference, no matter how slight, in the world by becoming a huntsman. He has been gifted with the Gamer's Reality by ? to help him achieve his destiny.**

**He is currently excited to sort through his rewards.**

He nodded, a satisfied grin on his face.

The mad dash he had taken through the forest showed clearly on the Map. The little blob of cartography south of Shion was filled in and there were a few black and white icons that had popped up inside and around it. One was shaped like a Beowolf, and another like what he knew an Ursa to be. He made an immediate mental note to stay clear of those. There was another one that was shaped like a pile of rocks, though Jaune had no idea what it represented.

He zoomed out until he could the entire world was visible to him, the spot of color no bigger than pinhead. Far, far to the west, somewhere in between Shion and Vale, sat a slowly pulsating icon. It was made up of three groups of lines arranged roughly in a triangular shape, to form a man's cloth-covered head and shoulders.

Jaune's mouth thinned. He wasn't going to be able to get there anytime in the foreseeable future. Maybe once it was time to go to Beacon he could make a detour, but for now there was no use worrying about it. He had more important things to do, like check out his inventory!

Grinning brightly, he clicked on said tab and scrolled right down to the bottom, where his recently acquired rewards sat. Deciding to leave the skill book for last, he first pulled out a small knife he remembered getting from the Trial by Asshole quest.

'_Observe_.'

**Exceptionally Balanced Throwing Knife (B)**

**Knife throwing is one of the oldest forms of ranged weaponry, being used for activities ranging from hunting and combat to circus acts. Though throwing knives have long since fallen out of use with the development of bows, firearms and other superior weaponry, in the hands of a skilled fighter it can be just as deadly.**

**This knife is exceptionally balanced. 75% chance to cause damage when thrown.**

**Damage: 120**

**Durability: 100%**

Being careful to hide it from the other passengers, Jaune weighed the knife in his hands with a grin. It looked like a regular knife; single edged and with a flat, bare handle. The whole thing, save for the gleaming, razor-sharp silver edge, was black. Definitely a cool reward; he'd have to practice with it. Maybe next time he went down into the Warrens he could try sticking one of the little munchkins with it.

Putting it back, he then pulled out both the wind Dust and the strange lump of ore he had received along with the knife.

**Air Dust (D)**

**Dust is the crystallized form of ? from when ? caused ?. Although humanity has little knowledge on the origin or exact nature of Dust, they use it to power virtually all modern technology. Different types of Dust can be combined in numerous mixtures and ratios to produce varied and powerful reactions, or in the case of those capable of magic, use it to enhance the power and effect of similarly natured spells.**

**Enhances the effect of all Air spells by 40%**

**Charges: 7/7**

It was the same size and cut as the fire Dust crystal, except it was light green instead of red. Even if he didn't have any skills to enhance, Dust had a thousand different uses. He didn't doubt that it would come in handy somewhere down the line. The ore he didn't know what to make of though; the only use he could think of for it would be as a crafting material, or maybe a valuable he could sell for money. It was a lump of rock and raw metal about the size of his foot, a dull gray color with flecks of green and blue minerals dotting its surface like freckles. He curiously Observed it.

**Ataltuam Ore (18 kg)**

**The raw, unprocessed form of ataltuam metal, a material commonly used in the production of industrial machinery and electronic equipment. Ataltuam, though weak, has an extremely strong vibrational conduction property, making it ideal for soundproofing, communications and electrical transformers.**

Jaune frowned. If it was a crafting material, it didn't seem like he'd be able to make anything useful out of it. This information gave the impression that the metal was very specialized, and not in a way that would help him anytime soon.

Shrugging, he threw it back into the inventory and turned his attention to the real prize.

**You have obtained a skill book. Would you like to learn 'Vortex'? Y/N**

'_Yes, please.'_

**Ping! New skill learned!**

**Vortex Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**Summon a ring of rotating air to the palm of your hand, launching anything in your grip forward at high speeds. Damage is dependent on the object launched.**

**Maximum mass: 3 kg**

**Launch speed: 90 mph**

**Cost: 25 MP**

Jaune briefly paused from grinning at the screen to check on the other passengers in the rail car. It was less than half-full, the other passengers spread out sporadically amongst the seats. There were a few empty spaces between him and the closest passenger; enough to risk it.

'_Vortex.'_

It took him a few confused seconds to even realize it was there. He felt the mana flowing, he could see the blue bar dip, but nothing else. It took a few moments of squinting to make out the slight distortion of the rotating circle of air. For the most part it was invisible; other than a slight breeze rustling the hairs on his arm he felt nothing.

Jaune had been picturing something akin to a mini tornado, but realized it was like those smoke rings that scientists shot out of air cannons at kid's birthday parties, except way more powerful. He cut off the mana flow and, spotting a loose screw, picked it up. He checked on the other passengers again; no one was paying any attention. Taking careful aim down the aisle, he held out his hand, the screw resting on top of his palm, and licked his lips nervously.

'_Vortex_.'

The screw blurred out of existence and slammed into the metal paneling beside the door at the end of the car. A loud crack rent the air as a sizable divet was punched into the steel, the other passengers jumping and looking around in alarm.

"What the hell?" One of the men near the front turned to look down the aisle, and Jaune quickly ducked back into his seat, wide eyed. Unable to hide his excited grin, he covered his mouth with his hand.

With that skill, _anything_ was a weapon.

He waited for the other passengers to settle down again before opening his skill screen, eager to see what the other four skills he had gained brought to the table.

The first one he found was the one he'd got after killing the first Beowolf.

**Dust Channeling Lv. 1 (16.2%)**

**Humans and faunus have found many ways of harnessing the power of Dust over the centuries, the oldest and most primitive method of which is using their own bodies as a conduit. While granting the user incredible power, it comes at the cost of their health, though the price becomes cheaper as the channeler builds a tolerance.**

**Allows the user to freely control the elements using Dust.**

**Cost: 150 AP/HP per second**

Jaune looked at the screen in surprise. This was the first skill he had seen that didn't use MP as fuel. He knew that channeling Dust unaided was dangerous, but for it to actually eat up his HP and AP was a little unexpected. The memory of the flames bursting through the surface of his skin flashed through his mind and he shuddered, gripping his left arm as phantom pain struck his nerves.

He wasn't eager to repeat that experience. This skill would need to be treated with extreme caution.

His enthusiasm curbed somewhat, Jaune moved onto the last three skills he had gained for unlocking his class. They were all grouped together at the bottom of the list, with a light blue glow slowly pulsing along the outlines.

**Summon: Avarice Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**Summons a copy of the ancient weapon of the Wraith to the host's hand for a limited time. As the connection between the host and the Wraith grows stronger, so does the weapon.**

**"_It is by avarice they have lived. I find it fitting then, that it is by Avarice they shall die."_**

**Damage: 1000**

**Cost: 400 MP**

Jaune goggled at the skill, mainly because of the damage and cost. He was sorely tempted to test out the skill there and then, but managed to restrain himself. After the little startle with the screw, he didn't think his fellow commuters would take kindly to any other strange going-ons, especially a teenage boy producing a weapon from empty air.

He chuckled briefly as he imagined men and woman screaming as he pulled a roaring chainsaw from nowhere. This was going to be the first thing he tried out once he got the chance.

'_Let's see. Hm… what's Soul Forge?_'

**Soul Forge Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**As host to the Wraith, your connection to the spiritual world is stronger than most, allowing you to bind the souls of your defeated enemies to your will. Once this skill is used, bound souls can be called to fight by your side during battle. To be bound, the enemy needs to be at 10% of their total health. Upon death, their souls will be yours to command, and will grow as you do.**

**Bind Cost: 50% of current HP and AP.**

**Summon Cost: 500 MP**

Jaune started at it in silence. This… this was…

He shook his head in wonder. He would need to start planning a return trip to the Crookback Warrens; he needed to use this on Jaden.

The last skill was a bit weird.

**Blind Justice Lv. 1 (MAX)**

**The Wraith sees through all falseness, lies and facades. It ignores status, appearance and power. By becoming blind to the physical world, the host sees into the spiritual. All who fall within their gaze are stripped bare, the sins staining their souls laid out for judgement.**

**Cost: 1 MP per second**

'_What?'_ Jaune read it again, and then once more, still not understanding. '_What is this?'_ It was strange enough that it was maxed out at level one, stranger still was the description. And why was it so cheap?

Just as before, he was hesitant to activate the skill in the company of strangers, but unlike Summon: Avarice, this didn't seem to be a physical skill. Should he risk it? Using it would almost certainly tell him what it did, and his curiosity was getting the better of him.

Tentatively, he began channeling his mana, ready to shut off the flow at a moment's notice.

'_Blind Justice.'_

Everything went black. It was as if someone had pulled a blindfold over his head, preventing any and all light from reaching his eyes. But it was more than that; the fabric of the seat he was sitting on dissolved into the air in an instant, leaving him seated on empty space. The sound of the rail clunking over the tracks abruptly cut to silence. The world disappeared.

Alarmed by his sudden sensory deprivation, Jaune deactivated the skill as quickly as he could with a strangled gasp. As soon as his mana stopped flowing, light returned. The world was still there. He was sitting in his seat. Someone coughed near the back. Jaune quickly spun around; wide eyes searching for any hint that all was not well. Thankfully, it was; everything was as it should be and none of the other passengers seemed the slightest bit concerned. Had they not noticed anything?

Jaune let out a long breath, sinking lower in his seat as he tried to calm his racing heart.

'_Becoming blind to the physical world'_ he remembered. '_Is that what that was?'_

After a few moments of internal debate, he tentatively activated the skill again. The world disappeared and Jaune once again found himself in that void-like place. He stayed this time, despite his apprehension, and looked around. What he saw nearly scared the shit out of him. The void wasn't as empty as he'd first thought.

Ghosts.

Humanoid structures bare of any features and made of glowing blue light, the same color his aura had been. Silver mist roiled off of them in great clouds, quickly fading into the darkness. There were perhaps thirty, spreading out behind and in front of him in a narrow column. Jaune very nearly retreated again, but hesitated. They didn't seem threatening; they were just standing there. In fact, they didn't appear to notice him at all. They were all facing the same direction, unmoving and unresponsive to his presence.

Hesitantly, Jaune stood from his 'seat' and walked towards one, the figure not reacting in the slightest. He was only able to take a few steps before he met some invisible, intangible force that prevented him from walking any further. Frowning, he waved his hands through the air; they met resistance, but he felt nothing. He looked up and flinched when he saw the ghost he had been approaching had its head turned towards him.

Hurriedly deactivating the skill, he found himself back in the rail car, pressed up against a seat on the opposite side of the aisle and staring at a frowning, elderly, dog-eared faunus two seats away, right where the ghost had stood.

Realization struck Jaune like a lightning bolt.

"Are you alright, young man?" The pensioner asked with a concerned voice, his gray, floppy labrador ears shifting underneath his cap. Jaune gave an uncertain nod and slowly walked back down the aisle, but didn't return to his seat. Instead, he remained standing in the aisle. After a second of deliberation, he activated the skill for a third time, and looked at the ghosts. The passengers.

He walked forward, not encountering any resistance this time, inspecting each person as he walked past them. Some turned their heads to stare back at him, others didn't react. Jaune quickly realized that despite their uniform shape, size and color, there was a difference between all of them. In the center of each of their torso's was black hole, varying in size and shade. Some had no more than a smudge of gray maring their bodies while others had gaping chasms that nearly took up their entire torsos. The edges of the holes were blurred, as if the light they were emanating were slowly being drawn in.

It was at one of the ghosts sporting a bigger hole that Jaune stopped and stared. After a few moments the ghost turned and stared back. Jaune didn't notice; his full attention was on what he was seeing in the hole of its chest. It was like looking at a holoprojector; against the blackness of the pit stood an image in full color, a man and a woman embracing happily. A shiny gold ring sat on the man's left hand, while the woman's was bare. Smiling, they kissed, completely unaware of the woman behind them, watching them with heartbreak in her eyes and her ringed hand held over her heart.

The longer Jaune stared, the more drawn in he was. Guilt flitted through his chest, deep-seated and mixed with heavy sorrow and self-loathing, but overshadowing it was a feeling of intense love, a love that he had never felt before. He hated himself for feeling it, and he loved her for that same reason. He hated that he had betrayed someone he had sworn to spend the rest of his life with. He dreamed of a possible future with her, only for his bliss to curdle as he realized it would mean breaking his best friend's heart. He cared for her, but she had never evoked in him the feelings that Jade-

Jaune gasped and shook his head violently, hurriedly deactivating the skill. His skin prickled and he felt cold.

"You okay there, kid?" Asked the man who he was staring at, the same man who he had seen in the ghost's chest. He was leaning away from Jaune, a disturbed expression on his face. He gave a questioning thumbs up, the gold ring on his finger in full view.

"Y-Yeah." Jaune's mouth was dry.

The man gave a slightly nervous chuckle, obviously trying to diffuse the awkward situation. "Good, good. You were acting a bit weird there. It looked like you were trying to stare into my soul."

"I did."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Sorry for bothering you." He turned to walk back down the aisle to his seat, before pausing and turning back to the man.

"You're not a bad person," he said.

The man tilted his head quizzically. "What?"

"You're not a bad person. You can't help how you feel, but you shouldn't lead your wife on. You need to tell her about Jade."

The man's face went deathly pale and his mouth dropped open in shock. Jaune held eye contact with him for a moment longer before turning and walking back to his seat. He could feel the man's wide-eyed gaze following him the entire way.

Jaune sat back in his seat, his mind racing. He now knew what Blind Justice did, but it only brought more questions. They rang against the inside of his head like bells. Why was he given this skill? What need could his class possibly have for that to be one of the starting skills?

Ironically, the one that rang the loudest was incredibly similar to the one he had asked himself not too long ago.

'_What the fuck is the Wraith?'_

**AN: Well, I managed to update inside of a month after posting the latest chapter for Marked in Ink. I'm getting back into the swing of things at school and writing more frequently than I have been.**

**I was looking through the last chapter, and realized just how subpar it was compared to my others. I made quite a few errors, errors that I'm going to try my best not to repeat. Thank you all for offering your opinions and support.**

**Just in case you're curious, the symbol on Jaune's Map looks quite similar to the Dakar logo, though sleeker in design. The throwing knife is a Gil Hibben black throwing knife, minus the string wrapped around the handle.**

**Now, in regards to the harem, I can say with absolute certainty that it will include the entirety of team RWBY and Neo. I'm hesitant to add more than them, but it's a possibility. People who asked for Glynda and Ms Clemen (Danielle), sorry. Maybe in another story.**

**Now, I do have a plan as to how this polyamorous relationship is going to develope, but as haven't had the best of luck with romance, I'd like to ask you guys how you think it would be realistically pan out, especially you female readers. Your contribution is indefinitely more valuable, since, you know, multiple girls. Let me know in a review!**

**Anyway, one more thing I wanted to mention is that where this story really starts diverting from cannon is going to be when Jaune embarks on the 'Wraith: The First Kill' mission. And I'm not talking small changes either, by the time he gets to Beacon, stuff is going to be seriously different. You'll see.**

**Cheers!**


	9. Catalyst

Catalyst

"Jaune."

He stopped packing things into his bag and looked up. Mr Brunt gestured for him to come over, and he nodded in return. One or two of his peers who had yet to leave the classroom gave him curious frowns. This was the third time in the last two weeks he had been called to speak to the man after a class, and a few of the more observant ones were catching on. He ignored them and walked over to where the teacher sat, pulling a nearby chair from one of the desks and plopping down into it. The two waited for the stragglers to filter out, staring at one another with blank faces. It was lunch now, so he didn't have to worry about being late for another class.

Jaune had been expecting this, actually. Mr Brunt had been looking at him weirdly ever since class had started, like he was searching for something and having a difficult time finding it. He had paused several times in the middle of the lesson to give him a considering look before continuing. It was a little unsettling, and hadn't helped his already short mood.

The two continued to look at each other for a few moments longer after the classroom emptied completely, Mr Brunt starting to look ever so slightly uncomfortable at the boy's flat stare. He shifted slightly, opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. Jaune didn't move. He tried again, this time succeeding. "So, what do think of-"

"He's a dick."

Mr Brunt sighed and leant back in his chair, shoulders slumping. "You're not wrong, but I'd appreciate it if you'd at least attempt a bit of decorum when talking to a teacher."

Jaune was unimpressed. "He threw me out of a bullhead," he said, placing both hands on the desktop and leaning forward, half rising from his seat. "An airborne. _Bullhead_."

"I know, I know. He told me everything," Mr Brunt said tiredly, running his flesh-and-blood hand over his face. He reached beneath the desk and Jaune heard the click of a button being pressed. "Believe me, I let him have it, for all the good it did. He could barely get through a sentence without saying something that had me screaming myself hoarse at him. Damn near sent myself into hysterics at one point, but I think the only thing I ended up doing in the end was amusing him."

Jaune couldn't help the image that sprang to mind. He pictured his normally calm and controlled teacher, red-faced and wild-eyed with veins popping out of his forehead and clawed hands extended like he was just barely containing the urge to strangle someone. He had to stop a smirk from spreading across his lips.

"I knew nothing of what he was planning on doing," Mr Brunt continued. Jaune frowned and peered down at the desk as a hoarse rasp started emanating from beneath it. "All he said was that he'd take care of the situation and that I didn't have to worry anymore." He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry for taking him at face value."

"You're not the one that needs to apologise," Jaune muttered, shooting suspicious glances at the spot the sound was coming from. Mr Brunt scoffed.

"Well it's going to have to do, because you're going to have an easier time prying a bone from a beowolf than you are getting Marcus Vaughn to say sorry."

Jaune grimaced at the mention of the Grimm. He'd had nightmares that first night after awakening his aura, about ruby-eyed shadows chasing him through trees with branches that tried to grab him. Even after experiencing first-hand the raw fierceness and bloodlust of the terrifying creatures, their dogged determination to rip him to shreds, he couldn't say Mr Brunt was wrong.

The rasping sound slowly transitioned to the rumble of bubbling water. Jaune stared as steam started to rise from beneath the desk and a rich aroma filled the room. Mr Brunt didn't seem to notice it at all.

"Are you brewing coffee?" Jaune asked incredulously.

The man shrugged and said, "I got tired of walking to the teachers lounge everytime I wanted a cuppa." He reached underneath the desk with both hands and came up with two mugs and a pot of black coffee. He set the mugs down and filled them up before passing one to Jaune. "Drink up. I don't have any milk and sugar, so you're going to have to drink it as is."

Jaune eyed the steaming black liquid dubiously, wondering whether or not he should reject it. If he remembered correctly, Mr Brunt's preferred brand was an unholy mixture that was liable to melt through his oesophagus if he drank it.

'_Observe_.'

**Devil's Brew (Black; 250ml)**

**Officially Remnant's most potent brand of coffee, an achievement that the company wears as a badge of honour. Sleep is for the weak.**

**10% Chance of inducing a heart attack in the elderly.**

**5 VIT for 3 hours**

Jaune's eyebrows shot up at seeing the special effects of the coffee. He raised his gaze to meet Mr Brunt's, who gave him an expectant look. Sighing, he raised the mug to his lips. The scent of the beverage filled his nose, and goosebumps broke out over his skin. He tentatively took a sip and his face immediately shriveled up at the taste.

**Ping!**

**5 VIT**

To say it was strong was an understatement. It was bitter to the point of tasting acidic and set his taste buds and salivary glands buzzing uncomfortably. He just managed to stop himself from doing a spit take, and instead swallowed it - with much difficulty - before proceeding to cough his lungs out. While not on the level of the ungodly tincture, it brought up disturbing memories of the experience.

His stupid english teacher sat and watched, calmy sipping from his own mug. Jaune swore he was hiding a grin behind the white ceramic. "You alright there, Arc?" he asked, receiving a glare in response. "Don't worry," he chuckled, "you'll get used to it."

Jaune wasn't sure that he would. Nevertheless, he took another small sip. He still cringed at the taste, but managed to stop himself from giving anymore of a reaction than that and shot a defiant scowl at the man across from him.

"Did you just want to apologise, sir?" he asked impatiently, knowing full well the man had more to say.

The amused expression on Mr Brunt's face faded into a contemplative look, similar to the ones he'd been shooting at him during the lesson. With both hands wrapped around his mug, he leant forward and studied Jaune's face in silence

Finally, after several seconds, he said, "You unlocked your own aura."

Jaune blinked. Before he could speak, the man continued. "Between that, and the fact that you actually managed to impress Marcus, I'm struggling to reconcile the naïve boy that was sitting here two weeks ago with the person he described in the woods."

Jaune didn't know what to say. What was the man talking about?

"I nearly died," he explained, not sure if Mr Brunt really knew what had happened that Saturday. "All I did was run away. The only reason I'm alive at all is because that bastard stepped in and saved me. That and I got lucky; If I hadn't unlocked my aura when I did I would have been toast."

Mr Brunt was staring at him with a nonplussed expression on his face. "You… you have no idea how ridiculous what you just said is, do you?"

All Jaune could do was shake his head in confusion and shrug helplessly.

"Kid," began Mr Brunt, "you were assigned an impossible task by one of the most infuriating assholes I have ever met and somehow managed to complete it and _impress_ him. According to Marcus, you channeled Dust barehanded with as much control as if you were using a wand, fought and killed two beowolves with a maimed arm and then outran the rest of the pack until just before Shion's walls." The man's expression got more incredulous with every word he spoke, as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. He seemed to be looking for a reaction from Jaune. Seemingly at a loss for anything else to say, he choked out, "You… you unlocked _your own freaking aura_."

Jaune remembered the way Marcus had seemed to stick on that detail as well, and was quickly realizing it wasn't as common as he had thought it was. In reality, the majority of Jaune's knowledgebase on huntsman was what was common knowledge and what he'd absorbed from years of huntsman themed movies, TV shows and cartoons. Now of course, he was smart enough to realize that the content of these aforementioned sources was geared more toward entertainment than providing factual information, and that everything was to be taken with a fistfull of salt, but he had never thought all the scenes of the protagonist's self-awakening of their aura had been anything other than common occurrences. Logically, it had to be something that happened, right? If people could only have their aura awakened by someone else who had aura, then how had the first person unlocked theirs? There had to have been a progenitor; someone who had unlocked their own aura and then done the same for others. And if it had happened once, then of course it could have happened again with other people. Nothing special, right?

Apparently, it was.

"You're going to have to explain to me why you're freaking out, sir. I was just trying to survive."

"I am _not_ freaking out," Mr Brunt growled, scowling as he leant back in his seat. "Arc, people who have unlocked their aura by themselves are so incredibly rare that most huntsmen haven't even heard of them, and those that have aren't really sure whether they believe it or not. Hell, three days ago I half-thought they were a fairytale myself. According to what I know, to do what you did, one has to…" he scrunched his face up and waved his hands about in the air vaguely. "'Realise themselves' or something like that. Understand some abstract, fundamental aspect of who they are so well that their soul resonates with the idea." He sighed. "I don't really understand it, I'm just paraphrasing something I heard someone say once."

Jaune had stopped listening. Something in what Mr Brunt had just said had struck a chord inside him, something about the conditions for unlocking your own aura. It took a few seconds before his INT points found the memory and spat it out at him - the notification that had popped up when he'd unlocked his aura. With everything that had happened afterwards he had forgotten about it, but now he remembered it almost word for word.

"I uncovered the nature of my being," he murmured to himself.

Mr Brunt blinked at him. "What?"

"Back in the forest, just before I unlocked my aura, I…" Jaune licked his lips and looked away from the man. "I thought I was going to die." He waited for several moments, and was grateful when the teacher didn't comment. All he heard was a heavy sigh. "I got angry, at both the beowolves and at Marcus. They surrounded me, I couldn't see a way out and I just… I made the decision not to be their prey. That I was going to fight them every step of the way, right up until the moment they killed me, and then even after that if I could. I killed the beowolf in front of me and right after that I unlocked my aura."

Mr Brunt sighed again and kept quiet. The two sat in sombre silence for a while, each taking a sip from their mugs every now and again. Jaune grimaced each time he realised what he was doing. Thoughts swirled around in his head.

With subtle hand movements, he brought up his menu and navigated to the page that displayed his perks. There was only one.

**My Strength is my Own**

**Due to uncovering the nature of your being, you have unlocked your own aura. Your reserves are permanently increased by 20% and grow 10% faster.**

Jaune felt his intrigue grow.

'_Due to uncovering the nature of your being…'_

That wasn't just how he had unlocked his aura. That was also how he had been given the Wraith class; because he'd… what? Somehow discovered the 'nature of his being'? What did that even mean? And what did it have to do with his class being chosen for him? Why the Wraith?

Eventually, Mr Brunt spoke up again. "Any sign of your semblance yet?"

Jaune looked up and hesitated for a few seconds, before holding out his hand. It might not be his semblance, but it would pass for one. He had no doubt that either Marcus or Mr Brunt would eventually see him doing stuff that wasn't possible, Dust or otherwise. He had gotten lucky in the forest; Marcus had logically assumed that he had created those firebolts using the Dust he'd held in his hand, but sooner or later they were going to realize something was up. What better way to explain things off than with a poorly understood and still developing semblance?

With a flash of light, he brought forth the weapon of the Wraith.

**Summon: Avarice Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**Summons a copy of the ancient weapon of the Wraith to the host's hand for a limited time. As the connection between the host and the Wraith grows stronger, so does the weapon.**

**_"It is by avarice they have lived. I find it fitting then, that it is by Avarice they shall die."_**

**Damage: 1000**

**Cost: 400 MP**

Mr Brunt's eyebrows nearly jumped off his forehead. "Well now," he murmured as he leant forward, examining the translucent, shimmering hatchet Jaune now held in his hand. It was the same one he had seen tucked into the belt of the Wraith's image. "This is interesting."

He turned his attention from the copy of what was assumedly Avarice to Jaune, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "Are you limited to a hatchet or can you make other weapons? How strong is it?"

Jaune let go of the ethereal grip and it dissipated into nothingness. "I haven't had the chance to test it out yet, and just the hatchet." He hesitated again. "But it's not _just_ the hatchet."

His teacher's raised eyebrow was his only prompt to continue.

"I can also… sort of… see into people's souls," he said, cringing as the last part of the sentence came out.

Mr Brunt looked at him blankly, before shaking his head. "What?"

Jaune breathed out through his nose. After the incident on the rail, he hadn't been at all eager to use Blind Justice again. The way he had not only completely understood, but _felt_ the man's emotions still sent shivers down his spine when he thought about it. For a moment, he had _become_ the man. It had been weirdly intimate, greatly unsettling and just generally fucking creepy.

Since then, the only people he had been around were his family, and if the thought of using the skill again made him uncomfortable, then the thought of using it on one of them made him queasy. He hadn't used the skill again.

"When I was going back home, after Marcus' test, something happened. I was on the rail and did… _something_, and the world disappeared. It was all still there, but I couldn't see or hear or feel anything. Everything was just black, like standing in an empty abyss. The only things other than me there were the passengers; they became these glowing, blue mannequin-like things. I almost thought they were ghosts at first."

Mr Brunt raised an unimpressed eyebrow while taking a sip from his mug. "Ghosts?"

Jaune glared. "You didn't see them," he said accusingly. "They looked pretty damn spooky."

The man raised his hands in surrender and Jaune continued. "They all had these holes in their chests. I looked into one of them and I…." He trailed off with a sigh. "I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I saw things in there. It was like watching a video. This guy was cheating on his wife and… it was almost like I became him. I could understand him and his feelings, and I could _feel_ them myself. The longer I stared, the more I became him; it felt like I was losing myself."

Mr Brunt frowned. "What exactly did you see?"

"Just him hugging a woman, while another one watched. She was wearing the same wedding band as him, and looked heartbroken." Jaune slumped deeper into his chair. "I could feel his guilt and indecision; it was tearing him apart. He genuinely loved the girl he was seeing, but at the same time he hated himself for betraying someone who he thought of as his best friend. For a moment, I completely understood him, down to his core."

Across from him, his teacher was frowning down into his nearly empty mug, his face having grown tighter with each word Jaune spoke. He swished the dregs of his coffee around in his mug before speaking up, his voice serious.

"Jaune?"

"Yes?"

His head rose and he looked him straight in the eye. "Promise me you won't ever use that skill on me or Marcus."

Jaune blinked in confusion. "What? Why - ?"

"Just promise me," Mr Brunt demanded, his eyes burning and mouth set into a hard line. "We've both got a lot of heavy baggage on us, and if your semblance does anything like what you just described, I don't want you seeing or… _experiencing_ any of it." His gaze turned back to his coffee. "Trust me, there's a whole lot worse than an affair," he muttered.

Jaune stared at the man, remembering the nightmarish story he had told him two weeks ago. How many more of those did he have weighing on him? "I promise," he said softly.

The mountainous teacher gave him a small, grateful smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, then tilted his head back and drained the rest of his drink. "You should go and enjoy the rest of your lunch period. Your training starts tomorrow; try and make the most of your last day as a normal high schooler."

Jaune nodded and sat his half-empty mug down on the desk before standing and grabbing his backpack. He was halfway to the door when he paused and turned back.

"Sir, do you mind if I ask one last question?"

"You mean other than that one?" he asked with a smirk.

Jaune ignored his bullshit. "What's your semblance?"

Mr Brunt smiled, before reaching out and laying his right hand on a small potted plant sitting in between the papers on his desk. His arm up to the elbow started glowing with a soft bronze light and the plant went crazy. Leaves and shoots burst out of the stem and flowers spontaneously bloomed all over it as the plant's growth drastically increased. After a second or two, Mr Brunt pulled his hand away and all at once it stopped. Where before was a tiny little flower now stood a small shrub with purple blossoms in full bloom. Mr Brunt grinned at Jaune's amazed expression.

The boy's eyes flickered to the box hovering above his teacher's head.

_'Oak of the Emerald, huh?'_

**~ Line Break ~**

Jaune really didn't know why they had to be outside the walls for his training. He could think of plenty of places inside Shion that would work as well as anywhere else, so why leave the safety of the settlement? Granted the pair weren't in the forest itself, but Jaune didn't feel comfortable with nothing but thirty meters of open ground separating them from what he knew housed fierce, bloodthirsty beasts. Every little sound and movement he caught had him carefully scanning the tree line for Grimm, ready to start hurling firebolts at a moment's notice.

"Loosen your panties, you ninny," Marcus grumbled. "The only thing your paranoia is going to do is draw them here."

Jaune spared him a fleeting glance before looking back to the forest. "And what if they're already there and waiting to attack?"

He scoffed. "You won't make much of a huntsman if you let a bunch of mutts catch you in an ambush. Largely due to the fact that you'd be ripped to shreds."

Jaune's lips formed a thin line. "Why are we out here? There are other places we could have used."

"You need to get used to being in dangerous environments," Marcus responded. "From here on out you're going to be getting intimate with life and death situations, and you're less likely to experience the latter if you're not wound tighter than a clockwork mouse." He reached up and began undoing the straps that held his harness in place. "The only reason we aren't going straight into the woods is because your pansy ass looks like it's going to shit itself if so much as a bird squawks."

"How bloody kind of you," Jaune said blandly, though truthfully he was grateful they weren't in the forest. Just the thought of being back amongst those trees, where beowolves and other nasties could be hiding anywhere, made him feel anxious.

Marcus finished undoing all the straps and shrugged off Last Bet, harness and all. "Take that off. Your jacket too." He was pointing at Crocea Mors.

"What? Why?"

"Because you don't know how to use it."

Jaune stared at him. "Right. And just leaving it laying on the ground is going to cause me to absorb ambient knowledge and skill in swordsmanship from Remnant itself. Sound reasoning."

A fist buried itself in his solar plexus.

**-400 AP**

Jaune blinked up at the notification. The blue of the box blended in quite nicely with the sky, so it looked like the text was just floating there by itself.

He lifted his head. He was lying on his back, on the ground. How did that happen? _When_ did that happen?

He sat up straight, letting out a small grunt of discomfort. His aura had prevented any actual damage, but some of the force of the blow had carried through and his muscles tightened uncomfortably everytime he took a breath.

Marcus was standing a few feet in front of him, looking down at him passively.

"What the hell was that for!?"

"You've got pretty good survival instincts," Marcus said, ignoring him, "and you're not too bad at strategizing either. Your actual skills in a fight, however, suck donkey balls."

"Ok, but why the fuck did you hit me?"

Jaune pushed himself to his feet, and was immediately sent back to the floor as his feet were swept out from under him.

**-20 AP**

"Stop fucking doing that!"

"Is that what you're going to say to an enemy? Let me tell you boy, the chances of that working on a Grimm are shifty at best." Marcus was standing in the exact same position, looking like he hadn't moved a muscle. "I've got less than two years to beat you into shape, but that doesn't mean we're going to be taking shortcuts. You need to be able to handle yourself in any situation, against any opponent - Grimm, human or faunus."

Jaune got back to his feet, and once again, Marcus attacked him, lashing out with a spartan kick. Jaune had learned though, and hastily jumped to the side to avoid the attack. Marcus nodded approvingly.

"So we will start at the beginning. Unarmed combat." He once again pointed at Jaune's sword. "Put that away."

Jaune hesitated for a second, but then grudgingly loosened Crocea Mors from his belt and tossed it aside.

"Your jacket too," said Marcus. "You're going to be spending a lot of time on the ground, so unless you want it to get covered in sweat, dirt and grass stains, I'd recommend you remove it."

Jaune glowered as he went to do just that. "You're not taking off _your_ jacket."

He received a derisive scoff and a mocking look. "And just why do you think that is, boy?"

Jaune flipped him the bird, and was promptly slapped a second later.

**-20 AP**

He blinked, holding one hand to his stinging cheek. "Did you just slap me?"

"Yes. Try and make yourself enough of a threat that you warrant a punch, please."

**Ping! Quest Alert!**

**Slap Fight**

**Quest Objective: Meet your trainer's combat standards before the end of the sparring session.**

**Completion Rewards: 400 EXP, 3 Points**

**Failure Penalties: Humiliation, minor injuries and no progression toward life goal.**

**Accept Y/N**

Glowering, Jaune lowered his hand from his cheek and accepted the quest, trying to make the hand movement discreet. As soon as the window disappeared, he rushed forward and swung two punches at Marcus, first a jab and then an uppercut.

"That has got to be one of the most pitiful attacks I've ever seen," the man commented as he hopped backwards, easily avoiding both strikes. "Don't wind up so much, all it does is telegraph your movements and leave an opening in your guard." He then demonstrated how one could take advantage of such an opening by smacking Jaune on the side of his undefended face.

**-15 AP**

Jaune grunted slightly and raised his arms on either side of his head to ward off any more incoming blows.

"Wrong," Marcus said in a bored tone. Sometime in the split-second Jaune had taken his eyes off of him he'd relocated to his left. He stood in a half crouch, left palm blurring toward his stomach.

**-8 AP**

The slap lacked power, but was so fast that by the time Jaune felt it, Marcus had already retreated a few feet from him. His posture was completely relaxed, with hands hanging loosely by his sides and his shoulders slouched forward slightly.

"Dodging a strike should always be your first choice," he instructed. "Only block if you can't dodge, and when you do block, make sure your guard covers your torso." He raised his own arms to demonstrate. "Tuck your arms in close. Your knuckles should be level with your eyebrows."

Jaune, still glowering, copied his position. As soon as he had, Marcus advanced on him and struck with a series of open-palmed attacks. They lacked the blinding speed that the previous one had, so Jaune was able to react to them, if only barely. He flinched back and avoided the first strike out of sheer luck, tried to dodge the second, failed, and caught it on his raised arm instead.

**-3 AP**

Without pause another slap knocked his left arm away from his face, and then three more followed in quick succession, hitting his unguarded cheek, ribs and stomach within half a second of each other. All three seemed to come from different directions.

**-14 AP**

**-11 AP**

**-7 AP**

Jaune grunted with each hit. He couldn't really feel them through his aura, which gave small pulses of light at every impact, but they still carried enough force to snap his head to the side and push him off balance.

A final slap to the back of his knees caused his legs to buckle and Jaune fell to the ground.

**-4 AP**

"What are you doing on the ground, boy? Whenever you hit the dirt, I expect you to get back up as fast as humanly possible. You're as good as dead in that position."

Jaune growled in frustration and leapt to his feet. Marcus smirked and beckoned for him to come and attack, which he did without hesitation. He wanted to hit this guy.

"Don't walk, shuffle," Marcus instructed, doing just that to meet him halfway. Jaune was too angry to listen; the last thing he wanted to do was take advice from him. He opened with a furious haymaker, his fist blazing toward his opponent's face. Marcus easily wove beneath the attack. "What did I say about winding up?" he asked as he backhanded Jaune on his exposed ribs, taking another six AP away, before dancing his way outside of the boy's reach. "You're telegraphing your movements too much, I can see them coming a mile away. Tighten up your form and relax your shoulders."

Jaune paused, before advancing with gritted teeth and a determined expression. He went in with two straight punches, both easily avoided, before once again swinging a cross.

Marcus was already moving to duck beneath it. "Again, stop win-"

He cut off as he spotted the uppercut heading toward his face. Not even blinking, he lunged to the right and then spun around Jaune so he was behind him. Jaune, sensing the danger he was in, leant forward and kicked out behind him blindly, like a mule. While it didn't connect, it did force Marcus to abandon the attack he was aiming at the boy's kidneys.

Jaune's hasty kick threw him off balance, his weight pulling him forward. Marcus took two long, calm strides and none too gently punted him in the backside, causing him to faceplant in the dirt, his rear poised in the air.

**-13 AP**

Marcus then proceeded to repeatedly kick Jaune's ass.

"Get -"

**-10 AP**

"- Up -"

**-10 AP**

"- Or -"

**-10 AP**

"- You'll -"

Jaune finally managed to roll to the side and to his feet, the last kick missing. Marcus let him and watched as the boy brought his arms up into a guard, panting and flushed. He could still see large gaps in his defence, but it was better than what he'd had before.

"Die," he finished. "Make sure you keep your balance at all times, especially when you throw a kick."

Jaune didn't say anything, he just growled. His blood was boiling; he wanted to hit this bastard. He wanted to hit him just like he'd been getting hit this entire time. He thought he'd had him there with that feint, but the asshole hadn't been fazed in the slightest. He stood across from him, panting, with a mixture of sweat and dirt caking his face while the huntsman looked as fresh as a daisy. Marcus stood there looking down at Jaune, a condescending tilt to his mouth, as if saying _'You're helpless and we both know it.'_

His aura flickered faintly around his form, on the verge of failing. If he was going to have any chance of landing a hit on Marcus he'd have to do it soon. His eyes flicked to the bar on his HUD.

**5/550 AP**

He nearly winced. One more strike and it would break.

He refocused on Marcus, trying to figure out how to get past the man's guard. He doubted he could; Marcus was faster, stronger, more skilled and more experienced. Nothing he had done had gotten anywhere near the man.

"What the hell are you waiting for, divine intervention? Don't just stand there, attack!"

A growl slipped past his lips. The only advantage he had was that his opponent was underestimating him; his only option was to catch the man by surprise.

'_Let's see if this works then,'_ he thought.

He ran straight at Marcus, abandoning his stance and form completely in favor of bum rushing him. He saw an amused smirk appear on the man's lips. When only a few feet separated them, he turned his body so the left side was facing Marcus and twisted his hips. Marcus' smirk widened; while he wasn't cocking his fist back like he had before, the boy was still making it far too obvious what he was going to do. Jaune swung a weak hook with his left fist, before suddenly retracting it and putting his full weight behind a right cross.

Marcus saw the feint coming a mile away; the boy had already tried that once, and even when it had caught him by surprise, he'd easily avoided it. His hands came up, the left to parry the boy's sloppy punch and the right to simultaneously deliver the final strike to his failing aura.

Jaune saw his trainer's hands start to rise.

'_Gotcha_.'

He dashed sideways.

Truthfully, he hadn't been completely sure it was possible. So far he had only ever used it to travel in the direction he was facing, but he'd decided to take the chance that 'any direction parallel to the ground' meant that wasn't strictly necessary. It wasn't.

It was a small displacement, just half a metre to his right, but it made all the difference. He was now half a metre from where his target expected him to be, within striking distance and fully wound up to unleash a devastating blow into the opening Marcus had left when he'd gone to parry him. Jaune carried on turning, ready to plow his fist into the huntsman's left cheek.

A savage grin spread across his face. '_Try dodging this, you bastard!'_

Marcus leant back and watched as the punch sailed past his nose.

'_No fucking way-_'

Jaune's disbelief was cut short as Marcus countered. Spinning ninety degrees so his body was facing Jaune's, his hand shot forward, traveling around the boy's extended arm and slamming the crook of his thumb and index finger into Jaune's throat, just below his adam's apple.

Jaune's aura flickered and broke, dissolving into tiny motes of light that quickly disappeared into the air. It barely slowed down the strike, leaving him to suffer the brunt of the hit. All of a sudden he was choking, trying to squeeze air through what felt to be a pinhole. His trachea spasmed and convulsed violently. He stumbled away, hands clutching his neck and gasping for air.

Marcus showed no mercy; if anything, Jaune's aura breaking seemed to waken his ferocity. Stepping forward, he drove the heel of his palm into his student's stomach and followed it swiftly by striking the inside of Jaune's legs with the edge of his hand, just above the knee. He used greater strength and speed than he had at any other time during the fight; Jaune dropped like a puppet with his strings cut, his quadrilateral muscles feeling as though they'd been severed.

He knelt, breathless, choking and unable to move his legs. Hands still clutching his throat, he looked up and met Marcus' gaze with wide eyes. The man regarded his defeated form with cold impassivity, before a slow, cruel smirk spread across his face. With crystal clarity, Jaune knew exactly what the bastard was going to do next. In a blur of movement, Marcus delivered his _coup de grâce _\- rotating his entire body, he sent a thunderous smack crashing across Jaune's bare cheek. The clap echoed out across the open field, before fading into the ether. Jaune's cheek turned ruby-red and immediately started puffing up. He wobbled on his knees for a few moments, before his eyes rolled up and he toppled to the ground, defeated.

**Ping!**

**Quest 'Slap Fight' - Failed**

**For getting the stuffing beaten out of you, you gain 1 VIT.**

The two messages prefaced a thick stack of damage notifications that Jaune didn't have to read to know everything bloody hurt. It took his unsteady vision a few seconds to focus on his health bar.

**495/700 HP**

Yeah, that felt about right.

"I'll admit, that was an impressive burst of speed. Didn't think you had that in you."

He didn't even recognise Dash's speed as anything supernatural?

Marcus stood over Jaune's prone, groaning form, hands on his hips and a look of intense satisfaction on his face. He spent a few seconds admiring his handiwork with a proud smile before reaching out and prodding the boy with the toe of his boot, causing Jaune to groan louder.

"Come on. Get up, boy," he said, prodding harder. "We still have…" he checked a non-existent watch, "about three hours and forty minutes left."

With one last, drawn-out groan, Jaune pushed himself to his feet while muttering curses under his breath. Slightly unsteady on his feet he faced Marcus, panting, sweaty, dirty and sporting a swollen, glowing cheek. Marcus' grin widened ever so slightly.

"This might actually be fun," he muttered to himself as he walked over to where Jaune had thrown Crocea Mors.

"What are you doing?" Jaune questioned weakly as the man picked up the sword and unsheathed it. He held the blade close to his face and ran a critical eye over it, starting at the hilt and slowly making his way upwards to the tip. He flicked the metal with his finger and listened to the ring it made, before nodding and moving through a short series of moves. Jaune grimaced as he watched; it was just a few basic swings and stabs, but Marcus moved so smoothly and fluidly that it almost looked like a dance. He was a long way off from that.

Marcus stopped and gave Crocea Mors a mildly impressed look. "Where did you get this?" he asked.

Jaune frowned. "Why?"

"This is a few tiers above what they sell in armories - not something a schoolboy would easily come across." Marcus gave him a sharp look. "Where did you get it?"

Jaune shifted under the man's scrutiny. "It's a family heirloom. My great-grandfather used it in the war."

Marcus glanced back at the sword with a raised brow. "And your parents just gave you this?" He sounded a bit incredulous.

Jaune shook his head. "My mom's an engineer, and my dad is the weaponsmith down in Nordain. They don't know I have it."

Marcus' head turned from the blade to him and stayed there. Jaune blinked in confusion, surprised by the man's sudden intense look. Silence reigned as Marcus stared at him, who felt increasingly uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Marcus paused for a moment, before speaking. "They don't know you're doing this, do they?"

Jaune stared at him as if he were crazy. "Who, my parents? Are you crazy? Hell no! They'd freak out if they knew what I was doing, especially if they found out what you put me through the other day. What sort of parents would let their kid do any of what I've done?"

Marcus stared for a few seconds longer, before sighing and bending down to pick up the scabbard. "Like I said, this is a good sword. No faults or damage on the blade, the steel sounds good and it's well balanced." He sheathed Crocea Mors and tossed it to Jaune. "I'd recommend you find something else."

Jaune gaped at him. "What?"

Marcus started walking over to the tree line. Jaune followed, his apprehension towards the forest forgotten in his confusion. "What do you mean? You were singing its praises just now!"

"Despite what I said, it's a very basic weapon. It's use extends as far as slashing, stabbing and what limited defense that shield provides. In the hands of a skilled huntsman, it would be more than enough to bring down most Grimm, but a scrub like you needs something more versatile and powerful." He stopped in front of one of the trees. "There's a reason mechashift weapons are so popular; they're capable of adapting to suit the wielder's needs. As long as they're not too complicated, they're extremely efficient." He nodded over to where he'd left his own weapons. "You've seen what those can do."

Jaune glanced between Crocea Mors and Last Bet with a frown, remembering the way the latter had lanced through the air and torn through the pack.

"Where would I get something like that?"

"You said your old man was a weaponsmith, didn't you?"

Jaune whipped his head around. "Did you not hear what I said just now? That's not an option."

Marcus gave an uncaring shrug. "The only other places are the armories in Shion and whatever they have in Nordain, and the stuff they sell is mass-produced mediocrity that won't last long in this kind of lifestyle. You could go to the weaponsmiths in Shion, but unless you're willing to sell some of your organs, I doubt you could afford them." He shrugged again. "I don't really care. It's your problem, you can figure it out on your own."

Before Jaune could say anything, he turned to the tree and wrapped his knuckles against the trunk. "Now, your semblance. I want you to hit this tree with that glowy-axe thing."

Jaune blinked. "How did you know-"

"Al told me."

He leveled a deadpan stare at the man. "Do you two have tea parties where you just discuss every minute detail I mention to either one of you?"

"Shut up and do as I say."

Jaune sighed before walking up to the tree. As he got closer, his anticipation and excitement grew; he had summoned Avarice a few times, but he had yet to actually use it. He was eager to see what effects it had, and to start leveling it up. Based on the way the skill's progress meter stayed firmly at zero percent, he guessed he actually had to hit something with it before it gained experience.

He summoned Avarice to his hand, Marcus letting out an interested hum at the sight of the weapon. Spreading his legs, he raised the glowing, translucent hatchet and looked askance at Marcus.

"The hell you looking at me for? Swing!"

Jaune scowled at the man before setting his sights back on the trunk. Letting out a small breath, he swung the axe at the tree.

It didn't bite into the wood so much as it caused the trunk to explode. A loud bang heralded a shower of splinters and tree sap flying through the air as the entire tree shook. Jaune stared wide-eyed, his hand clutching empty air. Avarice had shattered upon impact.

"Huh," Marcus grunted in bemusement, eyebrows raised. A sizable chunk of wood the size of his torso had been blown out of the tree. The trunk sat at about half its previous diameter. Even more surprising, large patches of frost covered the area Avarice had struck, the tiny ice crystals glittering in the sunlight. There was now a bite to the air that hadn't been there before, and faint traces of mist were busy fading into the air.

Marcus pointed to the frost, wood chips falling from his shoulders. "And this?"

Jaune gave a helpless shrug, still staring at the tree. "No idea. This is the first time I've used it." Still, he hadn't expected that.

Marcus gave the trunk a speculative look, humming once more. "Well, we'll work on that some other time; I just wanted to see what it could do. Right now, I want you to use your sword to cut the rest of the way through the tree.

That got Jaune's attention. "What?" he asked. The idea of using Crocea Mors as a common wood axe didn't sit well with him.

"You heard me. Twenty swings, both forward and backhand, then switch arms. Every forty swings you'll do twenty pushups and situps. If you haven't felled the tree in half an hour, you're doing five times that."

"Why?"

"Strength training," Marcus said shortly. "Also, unless you're content with 'Remnant itself' teaching you, you need to learn to swing that sword properly."

"But-"

"The clock started twenty seconds ago, by the way."

"...Bastard."

…

"That was a disgusting swing, you need to twist your hips more. Five pushups, then do it properly."

Had she heard her son then, Vanessa would have gone through an entire bar of soap washing out his mouth.

**〜 Line Break 〜**

That Saturday, Jaune was pleasantly surprised to find his oldest sister in the kitchen cooking breakfast when he came down.

"Diane! When did you get here?"

Whereas Claire inherited their mother's looks, Diane had inherited her motherly nature. She was the only other person their mom would let cook for the family, and had often helped take care of their younger siblings in the past. Now that she studied in Vale though, they didn't see much of her. She came home for holidays and occasionally on the weekends, but it was too long of a journey to be made regularly.

"Morning," she replied, juggling various pots and pans around on the stove. "I came in late last night. You all were asleep."

Jaune came up behind her and gave her a quick one-armed hug. "It's good to see you," he said with a grin.

"You too, Hoppy." Even with her back turned, he could see the affectionate smile on her face.

Jaune walked over to the table, where Macie, Tulip and Holly sat in their pajamas. Like them he wore his sleepwear, also covered in little cartoon bunnies, which he wore unashamedly. "Where are the others?"

"Still sleeping. Dad's in the forge."

"Lily is with him," Tulip chimed in sleepily.

The smile faded from Jaune's face. That reminded him of something he'd been agonizing over the last few days. He had come up with a plan to get his hands on a better weapon, and even more than that, but it involved doing something he didn't like. He had finally made the decision to go through with it last night, and this morning he would have to put it into action. He still didn't like it.

He glanced over at Macie, who met his eyes and swiftly turned away with a scowl and an adorable little _hmph_.

"What's up with her?" Diane asked, glancing over her shoulder. She had their father's features and their mother's face. Without looking, she expertly flipped what looked like a flapjack into the air.

"Accidentally deleted one of the shows she recorded on the holoprojector," Jaune explained with a sigh. "She's been pissed with me since yesterday."

Macie gave another petulant _hmph_ in agreement. He shook his head; he'd already apologized multiple times. If she wanted to hold a grudge over a complete accident, well that was her extremely immature prerogative.

"So what are you making?"

Diane flashed a grin. "Jajecznica."

"Don't sneeze on the food, that's disgusting."

"It is the food, smartass."

He'd known that, he just wanted to mess with her. He returned her look of fond exasperation with a grin. The foods she made when she visited always sounded weird, but tasted amazing. One of the benefits of having a sister studying to be a chef. In his opinion her cooking was even better than their mom's, though, for fear of his life, he would never voice that sentiment out loud.

"What's jackeznickel?" Tulip asked.

"Jajecznica." Her correction was completely ignored, as it always was. "Slices of fried Italian sausage, egg scrambled with parsley, mixed herbs and tomato, and potato pancakes served with sour cream. Also a side of fried veggies."

Jaune began salivating as she brought the delicious smelling food over to the table. His three younger sisters also perked up, the sleepiness fading from their faces. He moaned as he took his first bite; this was truly the food of the gods.

He blinked. Actually…

_Observe_.

**Jajecznica**

**A dish originating from rural Vale. Cooked by an experienced chef using potatoes, eggs, sausage, herbs, spices and various other ingredients.**

The rather bland description didn't properly capture the magnificence of the food. Jaune was disappointed to see that it didn't offer any special effects like Mr Brunt's coffee had. At least it still tasted good.

As he went to take another bite, he caught Diane looking at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

"What?"

The others glanced up from their plates curiously. Diane shook her head. "Nothing, it's just…" She gave him a glance over. "Puberty hit you like a dump truck."

Jaune, Holly and Tulip frowned in confusion. Macie had already resumed stuffing her face. "Huh?"

"You've gotten bigger since the last time I was here. You look more...," she squinted and made a small explosion motion with her hand, "filled out." The two triplets switched their gazes to him, before glancing doubtfully at each other. Jaune made a mental note to steal their food later.

"I don't know," Diane said, shrugging. "You just look more like dad, is all."

Jaune glanced away, once more reminded of what he had to do later. The food in his mouth lost some of its splendour.

Diane seemed to sense she had hit a nerve and quickly changed the topic of conversation. The rest of breakfast was spent catching up on what had happened in everyone's lives since she had last visited, which was before Jaune had received the Gamer's Reality.

"Nothing much," he responded when asked.

After he'd cleared his plate, he went back upstairs to get changed and brush his teeth, passing Claire on her way down. He put on some old jeans and a t-shirt before slowly making his way to the bathroom (of which the other family members had only recently resumed their use of). He brushed his teeth, making sure to carefully scrub every nook and cranny. He didn't bother with his hair; it always reverted back to its unruly mop. Five minutes later he was standing outside his father's forge, working up the courage to go inside. Eventually he sighed, knocked on the door and walked in without giving himself time to chicken out.

The forge looked like a mechanic's garage - if that particular mechanic was in the habit of keeping heavy ordinance and deadly weapons strewn all over the benches that lined the walls. The building was well lit, with open windows lining the walls all around. The actual forge itself was the only area kept in shadow, sitting in an alcove at the opposite end of the workshop. Wooden boards covered the walls, sporting a variety of different tools. There must have been seven different kinds of hammers, each with different sizes. Large pieces of heavy machinery, as well as a few tables, filled in the otherwise empty space in the middle of the building. They sat in a layer of loose sand, which Jaune's father had once explained helped to quickly cool off any hot metal that fell to the floor.

Both his dad and Lily were at one of the tables in the middle of the room, busy setting out a bunch of tools and small metal pieces. They looked up at his entrance, both with surprised expressions.

"Jaune?" His dad asked. "What are you doing here?" He could hear the slight discomfort in his voice. He also saw how his father's eyes quickly darted around the room, as if looking for escape routes.

Jaune opened his mouth to speak, before glancing uneasily at Lily and shutting it. "Could we talk for a bit?" he asked, mirroring his father's awkwardness.

"Oh, uh…" He paused, as if actually considering saying no. "Sure, sure."

"...Outside?'

He gave a small start. "Right, right of course," he said, navigating his way through the maze of machinery. Jaune half turned back to the door. He didn't miss the way his father looked back at a curious Lily, a plea for help written all over his face.

Once they were both outside, Jaune suddenly lost whatever courage was pushing him forward. He glanced away from his father's equally awkward eyes and fidgeted with his hands, while Malcolm crossed his arms and scuffed at the ground with his foot.

Eventually he managed to regain his voice.

"Could I... um… could I help out in the forge today?"

His father looked visibly surprised. "You want to help? Why?" he asked, before wincing at how blunt that had sounded. "I mean-"

Jaune hurriedly waved his attempted recovery away. "It's fine, it's fine!" Oum, this was awkward. He wanted to get this over with. "Look…" he sighed. "You remember I was acting a bit moody a few weeks ago?" Malcolm's blank look said he did not. "The day I got into that fight at school?"

"Ah, that." Impossibly, his dad's expression grew even more uncomfortable. "If this is about your emotions being all out of whack, then it's got to do with that talk we had when you started-"

"I remember the talk, dad," Jaune said quickly. "It's not about that." He took a deep breath. "My english teacher is an ex-huntsman - " Malcolm's entire body immediately went rigid " - and that day he made a pretty convincing argument about why I should give up on being a huntsman."

His father's mouth was already half-way open to start arguing against whatever point he was trying to make, before he stopped and blinked. His mouth worked up and down as he tried and failed to formulate a response. "What?"

Jaune almost winced; he could feel guilt burrowing into his chest. Underneath the shock and disbelief in his dad's voice, there had been a faint note of hope, of relief. A small part of him felt indignant at these, but they were drowned out by the knowledge that he was flat-out lying to his father's face. Lying so he could… _use_ him to unwittingly further an agenda he was firmly opposed to.

They might fight a lot, but Jaune loved the man and knew he was loved in return. No matter how much they screamed at and argued with each other, there was always the concrete understanding that they were family and there was nothing that could be said or done that wouldn't eventually be forgiven.

Except maybe this. This… this was betraying him in the worst way possible.

Jaune felt sick as he saw the hope spread across his father's face; he was doing a really terrible thing right now. The guilt burrowed deeper.

Yet it didn't stop him.

"He told me a story about one of his missions as a huntsman. He was guarding a town when it was invaded," Jaune said. The words were true, but filled with deceit. "He didn't pull any punches. He described exactly what happened and how it happened." They tasted horrible in his mouth. "It… it wasn't anything like what I thought it was. It was horrible - a nightmare. Since then I've been researching other places that have been destroyed by the Grimm." He looked away. "There's a lot. And all of it is just… ugly." That was also true; it was the reason he had to do this. He couldn't just look at all of that, knowing he had the ability to help, and turn away.

That was just what he had to make his dad believe he was doing.

Malcolm still looked shocked. "So… so you've…"

Jaune looked him in the eye for the first time. "Maybe you're right, dad. Maybe I shouldn't be a huntsman. I don't know what I'm going to do in the future, but I thought," he gestured to the forge, "why not give this a try." He paused for a bit. "So… so can you teach me?"

Malcolm was silent for a while. Slowly, a beaming grin started stretching across his face. "Are you sure? It's going to be hard work, and there's a lot to learn."

Jaune nodded. It might be a while before he could get a better weapon, but if he could learn how to make one himself, from a huntsman weaponsmith no less, then it would be well worth the wait.

Malcolm looked unbelievably happy. He straightened up from a slouch Jaune hadn't noticed had been there and seemed to regain some youth. Still wearing that stupidly-happy grin, he took two steps forward and enveloped his son in a hug, surprising Jaune. After a moment or two of not knowing how to react, he tentatively relaxed and hugged back. Pushing away the guilt and self-loathing for a moment, he allowed himself to be close to his father for the first time in a long time.

**Ping!**

Jaune was only a few inches shorter than his dad. He opened his eyes and peered at the notification over the man's shoulder.

**New skill created!**

**Lying Lv. 1 (0.0%)**

**The art of deceit, as old as the concept of communication itself. Whether it be an omission, half-truth, bluff, bald-faced lie or simply a misleading statement, its chances of successfully convincing someone of something other than the truth depends on this skill.**

**20% chance of successfully lying.**

**Ping!**

**Due to successfully executing a well-crafted lie, skill 'Lying' has leveled up twice.**

**Lying Lv. 3 (31.6%)**

**The art of deceit, as old as the concept of communication itself. Whether it be an omission, half-truth, bluff, bald-faced lie or simply a misleading statement, its chances of successfully convincing someone of something other than the truth depends on this skill.**

**30% chance of successfully lying.**

The guilt came rushing back in full force. For the first time, Jaune wasn't happy about receiving a new skill.

They seperated and Malcolm lead Jaune back into the forge, his stupid grin not leaving his face. Once they were back at the table where a bemused Lily sat, he set about explaining to Jaune what they were doing and what all the little tools and metal pieces were for. Apparently, one of the huntsmen had damaged the deployable shield that was fixed into the haft of his harpoon-spear (it looked as ridiculous as it sounded). The metal segments that made up the shield were badly warped and dented, even punctured in some places. Jaune's job was to help his sister remove the damaged plates from the frame they were fixed to, while Malcom made replacements in the forge. It sounded like a simple enough task, but the way the segments were attached to the frame was so complicated and awkward that it took him nearly ten minutes to just detach one, even with Lily's constant and mildly waspish instruction. It seemed she didn't like him intruding into her territory.

Another twenty minutes later, and Jaune all but fled the now sweltering workshop, his shirt drenched in sweat. Even with all the open windows, the forge emitted an insane amount of heat, which made any sort of work more difficult than it had any right to be. It felt like he was trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle while sitting on the lip of an active volcano. Bursting into the kitchen, he grabbed a glass and filled it with water before guzzling it down.

"Whoa, what happened to you?"

He turned to see Saffron, Diane and Claire, as well as their mother, sitting at the table, all frowning at him. Claire had paused with a piece of sausage poised halfway to her mouth.

"I'm helping Dad and Lily out in the forge," he said as he refilled the glass.

"Oh?" His mom asked with interest, eyebrows raising. Her gaze was suddenly sharp and focused completely on him. She, more than anyone, knew of the tension that had existed between father and son; it irritated her to no end. "What brought this on?"

The door opened and Macie walked into the room, one of her coloring books tucked under her arm. The way his mom casually pulled out the chair next to her for the girl without turning her intense eyes from her son was quite eerie.

Jaune wasn't entirely sure how to answer her. He knew this was one of those inexplicable times when she was asking a question that wasn't actually the one that left her mouth, but he didn't know what it was. "We had a talk," he said slowly, uncomfortable with the way she was staring at him.

He must have answered whatever she was silently asking, because the corners of her mouth turned up in a gentle smile and her eyes lost their intensity. She gestured to the glass in his hand. "Make sure you take some back for them as well."

He was halfway through nodding when his eyes hooked onto the cover of Macie's coloring book. The glass slipped through his suddenly nerveless fingers as horror washed over his features.

That… that was _not_ a coloring book.

He ignored the startled shouts and exclamations as the glass shattered on the floor. '_How? How?! That was in my freaking inven-!'_

To his further horror, Jaune remembered that he had taken the magazine his baby sister was currently perusing with childish innocence out of his inventory the night before and had failed to return it once he had… finished reading. She must have found it laying in his room somewhere.

"Jaune, what -!"

Saffron abruptly cut herself off as she followed his gaze. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open to form an 'O', before her head whipped back around to give him the most expressive 'You-done-fucked-up' look he had ever seen. He was too busy watching their mother to agree with her. By now everyone else had taken notice of what the little girl was looking through and were staring with various states of shock and horror on their faces. She was looking back with wide, innocent eyes that were wondering what was going on.

"Sweetie?" Vanessa asked, a stiff look on her face. "Where did you get that?" Her words were clipped and forced through clenched teeth born in some terrifying facsimile of a smile.

Before the thought of running could even occur to Jaune, Macie gave a cute little tilt to her head and effectively sentenced him to death.

"Jaune's room. What is it, mommy? Why are these ladies naked?"

At that moment, Jaune wished he had never left the blistering heat of the forge. It was cooler than the look his mother was currently leveling at him.

_'I am so fucked.'_

**〜 Line Break 〜**

"Five…"

Jaune hated Marcus. He _hated_ him. At first the man had just been a dickhead, but with every training session that went by his resemblance to the Dark Brother grew.

"Four…"

He reached his Support Tree, so named because it helped keep him standing in times such as these. He was grateful to it for the numerous times it had prevented him from falling into a puddle of his own puke.

"Three…"

As fast as he could, Jaune spat out whatever bile had gathered in his mouth. There was nothing left in his stomach to properly throw up.

"Two…"

He spat one last time, before pushing away from the trunk. His quivering legs struggled to keep him upright.

"One."

He regained his balance just in time to block Marcus' kick to his head, but failed to even react to the follow up side kick he drove into his stomach.

He staggered backwards with stiff, jerky movements, paused, then turned around and rushed back to the support tree.

Marcus let out a world-weary sigh as the sound retching filled the air.

"Five…"

**〜 Line Break 〜**

"You look like squashed shit, kid."

"Yeah, well that makes two of us, and _my_ case is only temporary." Normally, Jaune wouldn't have dared snark at a teacher like that, but he was in no mood to entertain. Luckily Mr Brunt seemed to be amused rather than offended.

"He's working you hard then?" He asked with a chuckle as he took a sip from his mug.

"He's killing me!" Jaune threw his hands up in the air, coffee sloshing out of his own. "I've done nothing but get beaten black and blue for nearly two weeks now! If he's not pummeling me, he's making me do five hundred pushups-" Mr Brunt gave him a doubtful look, which was met with a glare. "Five. Hundred. I wish I were exaggerating."

Mr Brunt's lips twitched and he hurriedly took a sip of his coffee. "Well you've certainly bulked up a bit."

"He's relentless!" Jaune cried, continuing as if he hadn't spoken. "Sometimes we'll spend the entire session sparring. Do you have any idea how broken you feel after four hours of non-stop abuse!?"

The teacher's unimpressed look said Jaune was presenting macaroni art to Picasso, not that he noticed.

"He doesn't stop! If my aura breaks, he just hits harder! I fall, and he kicks me until I get up! If I need to puke, which is often, he gives me five seconds before he attacks again! And he counts really fast, so it's not even five seconds - more like two and a-!"

"Oum above, kid, shut the hell up."

Jaune's mouth snapped closed in instinctual obedience, before his free will caught up to him and he scowled. He opened his mouth to tell Mr Brunt that, no, he would not shut up, but was silenced as the man drew a short, sharp line through the air with his prosthetic, the metal clanking softly.

"Nah ah, not another word. Drink your coffee and calm down."

Once again he tried to protest, and once again he was prematurely cut off as his teacher gave him a warning look. Grumbling, he took a long gulp of his coffee. It's taste hadn't improved any, but like Mr Brunt had claimed, he had gotten used to it. It actually helped to keep him going nowadays. Between Marcus' hellish training, his lessons in smithing with his dad and his increased efforts toward school, Jaune was feeling a bit stretched thin.

He breathed out and took another sip, his face crinkling slightly out of habit.

"You better?"

He nodded, eyes fixed on his cup. "Yeah."

"This is what you signed up for. You aren't thinking of giving up, are you?"

Jaune gave him an affronted look. "No, of course not."

"And you're not expecting me to to speak up on your behalf?"

"No." Although now that he thought about it...

"Then what exactly are you hoping to accomplish with all this complaining?"

Jaune frowned. "Nothing. I'm just venting."

Mr Brunt gave him a piercing stare, before sighing. "Tell me, Arc, what do you think is humanity's most valuable characteristic?"

Jaunes mind immediately flashed to his stats. Those six attributes had come to epitomise what strength was to him. The electricity that swept through his body whenever he gained a point in DEX, VIT or STR had become addicting, and the clarity that each increase in INT and WIS brought was… freeing. Each one allowed his mind to soar higher, gaining a greater perspective on everything. He wasn't any smarter than the average student, but compared to where he had first been, it was a huge improvement. LUC had yet to really do anything for him; in fact, if the incident with Macie and his porn was any indication, it was failing him.

Jaune ignored the tiny little voice in his head that said simply being unlucky wasn't the only possibility.

Then again, he hadn't really invested in the stat that much, and it was pretty low. He'd have to change that at some point. He shook his head and refocused on the question.

"Our intelligence?" he ventured. That was the one thing that separated them from animals. It's what had allowed them to develop and advance throughout the ages.

Mr Brunt hummed in the back of his throat. "Well, you're not wrong. It's a matter of opinion really, but I believe that when faced with adversity, there's really only two things a person can do."

Jaune leant forward in his chair.

"They can either adapt themselves to suit the situation, or adapt the situation to suit themselves. You understand?"

Jaune thought about it for a second, then slowly nodded. They had covered adaptation in biology a while back. Certain species developed specialised characteristics to better survive in particular environments. Camouflage to hide from predator or prey, body hair to regulate temperature, a third eyelid to protect from pollutants in the air, etc. Humans and faunus were unique in that they were the only species in the world who adapted their environment to suit them. They didn't have claws or teeth to hunt with (at least the humans didn't) so they made weapons. They lacked enough body hair to survive freezing temperatures, so they stole the skins of animals who did. They built tools, planted crops and constructed cities. From the beginning that was how they had dealt with their problems; by adapting.

"Now, in this case the situation isn't likely to change. Marcus is going to keep doing what he's doing until he decides otherwise. That leaves you. The only way you can make things better for yourself is by making yourself better. Grit your teeth and take whatever comes at you on the chin."

Jaune nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. The bell rang, signaling the end of his lunch period. Glancing down at his nearly empty mug with a grimace, Jaune threw his head back and drained the last dregs, finishing a cup for the first time.

"I'll see you tomorrow, sir," he said as he grabbed his things. He ran through his mental schedule and sighed at what he found. "I've got biology now."

Mr Brunt sat up a little straighter in his chair. "With Danielle, right?"

Jaune frowned. "You mean Ms Clemen?"

"Yes, her."

"Yeah, she's my teacher. Why?"

"You came up in a conversation once; something about Supressionist war camps. What's that about?"

Jaune paled. "Nothing, sir. Nothing at all."

**~ Line Break ~**

Jaune stared from the sitting room doorway, entranced. He'd seen his mother do this countless times and had never given it a second thought, but now, as he watched her fingers dance and weave while her body gently swayed from side to side, he couldn't look away. For the first time, he actually _heard_ the music in the air, and it was beautiful.

He continued to watch, his own fingers twitching along with hers. When eventually the final notes faded into the air, he spoke up.

"Mom?"

"Hmm?" Vanessa lowered the violin from her neck and looked up.

"Could you show me how to do that, please?"

**AN: Whew! Finally! It's been awhile, but the new chapter is finally here. Two people have reviewed asking for an update, and I actually found that to be uplifting, knowing that people like this story so much. Then I felt guilty for leaving you guys hanging for so long. I entered a short story competition run by a publishing company, and just finished my entry yesterday, so that's the main reason for the delay.**

**Let me tell you guys, writing original works is much harder than Fanfiction. It took me a week to write a 3000 word story, but I finished it and I think it has a chance of winning. First prize is R5000 (about 300 with the current exchange rate) and second and third place both get half that.**

**This chapter is basically Jaune adjusting to his new life. We see more of his abilities and interaction with his family (prepare for drama). The next chapter will be similar, but with a bit more action.**

**Now, reviews!**

**Blackgold Night: I especially enjoyed reading your reviews. You gave some good advice as to the relationship aspect of this fic, as well as some helpful criticism. You seem like you have some real sass and I love people like that. I hope you continue contributing!**

**Guest: Not sure who this is, but you also gave some good relationship advice, spread across two reviews. You even mentioned some things I had been thinking of myself.**

**armentho: I want Gamer's Body to be more of a reflection of his physical state than a skill that actually does anything. Converting injuries and physical abilities into numbers is where I want to draw the line, otherwise Jaune could just recover from the brink of death by sleeping in a comfortable bed. He does recover from injuries rather quickly, but that's mostly due to his aura and natural healing process. The other parts of your review were valuable.**

**Adrium: Thanks for pointing out the superhero wiki. There is a lot to go through.**

**There were others of course, but these are the ones that stood out. All of your thoughts and opinions are appreciated.**

**Lastly, I have some questions relevant to the story.**

**People with two moms/dads (or you know someone who does), how do you distinguish between your parents when talking to a third party? Like, if you say, "My dad/mom is coming to pick me up." How does the other person know which parent you're talking about? Do you call them by name, or say something like "Mom Jennifer is coming to pick me up?"**

**I've been crunching the numbers in my head, and this story is going to be massive. Maybe even over a million words. That said, would you guys prefer it all in one big story, or separated into a series? There's not much difference in the end, but just thought I'd ask. If I were to split it up into separate books, Jaune would only get to beacon in book two.**

**Let me know what you guys think in a review!**

**Cheers!**


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